PERSEVERE LIKE MOSES
God always has a plan. His plan for the Jews was for them to come out of Egypt and into the Promised Land (Exodus 3:7-8; 23:31). God had a plan for Moses as well – to lead them from Egypt to the Promised Land (Acts 7:35-35). Moses passed God’s plan on to the people, who wanted it to happen as well (Exodus 6:6-8). Moses didn’t come up with his own plan for the people, nor did he try to make them like other nations. His goal was to follow God’s plan for them.
God has a plan for each one of us as well (Jeremiah 29:11-14). It’s of primary importance that we know it and follow it. Some leaders come up with their own plan and ask God to bless it and make it work. That seldom works. Instead, we must listen to His voice speaking inside us, revealing to us His plan for us and our life and ministry. Sometimes God puts a desire or burden in our hearts as a way of showing us what He wants us to do. It could be something major that will require our whole focus, or something smaller and simpler that doesn’t take much time to accomplish. Other times He sends us opportunities like open doors to step through.
Following God’s plan for our lives and ministry is not always easy. In fact, often it is very hard. There will be times when every leader wants to quit. Moses wanted to quit several times (Numbers 11:14-15). The burdens of ministry get heavy, opposition makes progress difficult and our energy gets low. I’ve had times when I wanted to quit and wished God would let me quit, but I always knew inside that isn’t what He wanted and I didn’t want to disobey Him, so I kept on. Each leader needs to learn that for himself or herself. Discouragement is a strong tool of Satan and we need to recognize it and not give in to it.
Moses lost his family when his wife and children left him and went back home (Exodus 4:24-26). The Jews were constantly complaining and criticizing what he was doing, even though he was obeying God’s directions. Moses struggled with sin as we all do, and often was defeated by lack of control over his anger. He never did accomplish what God wanted – leading the Jews into the Promised Land. They just wandered for 40 years without growing or maturing. Those are the kinds of difficulties we face as church leaders today as well.
A lesson I learned from Moses was the importance of keeping my eyes on Jesus, not on circumstances around me or on the results of what I was trying to accomplish. God expects us to be faithful to Him (1 Corinthians 4:2). He doesn’t look for great results from us, just faithfulness to what He assigns us. Jeremiah ministered for 50 years without one convert. Isaiah’s ministry was much the same. So faithfully persevere.
When God looks at you, does he see someone who faithfully perseveres no matter what is happening? Are you quick to quit? Maybe you don’t quit completely, but do you slow down and not serve as faithfully as you should? What things make it hardest for you to persevere? What can you to do to keep faithfully serving despite these things?
cto Rev. Dr. JERRY SCHMOYER
Christian Training Organization
Jerry@ChristianTrainingOrganization.org
(India Outreach, Spiritual Warfare, Family Ministries, Counseling, World View)
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