Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore, I will wait for him.”
There are fresh mercies for you today, form fitted for all the things you will face, both those that you know about and may worry about, and those that you don’t know about yet. God’s mercy isn’t generic. It is personal grace, situational care, and concrete help. It meets you right where you are and gives you just what you need. Yes, this side of forever can be hard, but you’re not alone; you’ve been given sturdy love and new morning mercies – just what you need right here, right now.
Ministry to others is a wonderfully fulfilling exercise of the grace and gifts given to us by God (especially within the local church). God places within our hearts and minds a desire to serve and love and meet the needs of others. It’s a beautiful thing! And yet living in the real world (this side of forever) means that we will face difficulties and challenges that will threaten to be our undoing even in our church. Thus, we need, as Paul Tripp so eloquently writes, “sturdy love and new morning mercies,” to handle these unwelcome obstacles.
Peace Can Rule Our Hearts
Whatever the dynamics that exist within our local church body, we have to learn to communicate humbly and peaceably with our fellow believers. Even when we disagree, especially when we disagree. It’s so easy to take offense and become wounded by others’ words and deeds. We often forget that we are on the same team. Thus, we must learn to discipline ourselves from overreacting to unwanted changes or new developments that may not be what we had envisioned. We can choose to make grace-filled gratitude our default response. We can! Peace over chaos and control is a real solution.
We Serve On The Same Side
We must understand that all ministries belong to God. Sure, we may initiate a particular setting or event or layout the details for meeting specific needs. But God is the ultimately the Sovereign One over all our lives, our ministries, and everything we have been given by him. This biblical awareness helps us to step back and calm down emotionally because we recognize that if God wants a ministry to succeed it will.
Peace Over Chaos And Control Wins The Day
Certainly, our gifts and talents may open a door for us to serve in the church but only our humility, openness to change, and teachability will allow it to flourish. Truly, we need the wise input and perspectives of others to help strengthen, broaden, and enrich whatever we put our hearts and hands to serve. Let us each be pro-active in seeking to develop humble, peace-driven hearts even when our emotions are battling within our hearts.
Take-away Action Thought
When I feel upset or discouraged because the ministry I’m involved in isn’t working out as I had planned or hoped, I’ll step back from the emotional situation and pray. I’ll take time to quiet my heart and open the bible to the book of Proverbs for wisdom in living a godly life.
My Heart’s Cry to You, O Lord
Father, help me to exercise self-control regarding these emotional responses I experience when it comes to how I interact with others in my church body. Give me a humble and teachable spirit so that I don’t react defensively to others’ suggestions. Help me to remember that everything in this world, including me and my ministries, belongs to you to do with as you please. I am so grateful for the chance to love and serve in any capacity. Amen.
Practicing Grace and Gratitude
- Grace and gratitude from God – Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. Each evening this week, I will list five of God’s compassions toward me on that day. Then I’ll spend time giving thanks to him for each one and how they enriched my day.
- Grace and gratitude in me – I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore, I will wait for him.” Each morning this week, I will take time to say a prayer for humility, wisdom, and teachability so that my attitude is ready to respond to any challenges or difficulties that I may be face that day.
- Grace and gratitude in life – They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. This week, I will spend time doing a bible word search of verses that contain the word, “faithfulness” in them. I’ll write down a few of these passages
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