Fighting for Joy in Ministry

by Myra Shealy
There are some unique challenges that come with being married to a man devoted to full-time ministry. Maybe you have experienced some of these:

The workload and burdens of ministry are often great, and we may feel overwhelmed and exhausted. The resistance/conflict with the objects of our ministry and our ministry partners can sometimes be draining. Our godly counsel may be ignored by those we are trying to help, and they instead make decisions that have serious negative consequences. We lack wisdom to help our people straighten out the mess that sin has made in their lives. Plus we have our own set of problems with sin and weakness, the struggles with relationships in our own families, and trials that come into our lives.

Sometimes we are tempted to respond to those pressures in a wrong way. In our pride, we operate in our own strength. We neglect the means of grace that God intended for our strength in Him, (the word, fellowship, prayer). We forget that we have a personal enemy roaming about seeking our destruction. We forget to arm ourselves for spiritual battle. We forget there even is a battle and that we are already in it. We look back at the past and complain. We look forward to the future and worry. We may even begin to blame others or punish those around us for our discouragement and struggle.

These challenges, and our wrong responses to all the dificulties of life and ministry, can strip us of our joy in Christ.

Our Problem

What is at the heart of our struggle?

Listen to the words of Hebrews 3:13: “Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called "Today," so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin."

While this passage primarily calls us to our responsibility toward other believers, notice how it sets unbelief as the opposite of being encouraged. To have a sinful, unbelieving heart can result in a hardened, deceived heart. How does unbelief manifest itself?

John Piper says, “…all sins come from unbelief in the promises of God. All the sinful states of our hearts are owing to unbelief in God's super-abounding willingness and ability to work for us in every situation of life so that everything turns out for our good. Anxiety …indifference, regret, covetousness, envy, lust, bitterness, impatience, despondency, pride—these are all sprouts from the root of unbelief in the promises of God.”

In our despair we choose to not believe His promises like:

2 Corinthians 12:8: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

Matthew 28:20b: “...I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Matthew 6:33: “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (speaking of basic needs like food, clothing, etc)

Isaiah 41:10: “'Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

And, Isaiah 55:11: “So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

My lack of joy usually shows me one other thing about my heart. I often prize God’s gifts above God himself. When I have a sinful response because I don’t get those gifts that I desire (of comfort, convenience, fruit from ministry labor, peace and lack of conflict in a relationship, appreciation from others, children that are obedient, saved and mature, etc) I am showing that my heart is not satisfied with the greater gift of Christ alone.

Our Prayer

When we see this about ourselves, we must cry out for joy, because it is a gift from God that only He can give, but that He loves to give in His own timing. We must repent of our unbelief and our sin of treasuring anything above Christ. Then we will find true and lasting joy in Him.

We should pray as the Psalmist did in Psalm 51:12: “Restore to me the joy of my salvation…”
And in Psalm 91:14: “Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love.”

Our Pursuit

While we wait for God to restore our joy, we must also fight for it!

The fight for joy is a struggle to get to a place where we focus our hearts on Christ, savor the glory of who He is, and be satisfied. We can never afford to let the busyness of a life of ministry, and the difficulties that come along with it, distract us from cherishing Jesus, our all-satisfying treasure.

We must daily return to this sure foundation for our joy: Jesus, our Righteous Judge has become our Merciful Savior! He has paid for all our sin with his own precious blood, and caused us to be born again into the family of God. So we must preach the Gospel to ourselves every day and celebrate all Christ has done for us. Jesus is the Mighty Conqueror over every thing that kills true joy!

Pursuing joy also means that we must put ourselves in the pathway of His blessing.

Don’t neglect his word.

Psalm 19:7,8 says “The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul …The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart.”

The prophet Jeremiah says “Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and a delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O LORD, God of hosts. (Jeremiah 15:16)

Don’t neglect fellowship.

The Lord never intended for us to be alone and discouraged, but commands all believers to encourage others so that none will have a sinful, unbelieving heart and become deceived and hardened. (Hebrews 3:13) This verse speaks of our responsibility to give and receive encouragement.

Don’t neglect serving.

One of the most common means of rescue in my life is the opportunity to share the word with those around me. Countless times, the Lord has used a Christian book I was reading with my children, or a discipleship meeting, or a book discussion with my Bible study ladies to pull me out of discouragement, and remind me of Christ's promises.

Don’t neglect to give Christ your burdens.

In his book When I Don't Desire God, John Piper says, “The life of joy in God is not a burdened life. It is an unburdened life. The fight for joy is the struggle to trust God with the burdens of life. It’s a fight for freedom from worry. It’s a fight for hope and peace and joy, which are all threatened by unbelief and doubt about God’s promises. “

Our Portion

In Psalm 73:25, 26, we read “Whom have I in heaven but you? And besides you, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever.”

When we can say that, then we have found Christ to be more valuable than anything in this world! With that heart, you will be able to see a life of full-time ministry as a life of self-sacrificing love TO YOUR SAVIOR, and not merely to your husband, children, ladies you are discipling, or others. That will bring a life of real and lasting joy! After all, “It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” And He’s “the only God who’s worthy of everything we can give!”