Ministry can bring the best moments of our lives. When we are walking with God and His people to carry out our assignment, there just isn’t a better feeling, is there? But when there is pain and hurt feelings, ministry can feel so difficult and lonely.
I especially think of the Advent season when our attention is on Christ and His coming to earth for a people who desperately needed Him. I find my need for Him in my ministry calling is greater each year. I believe this is because as we grow in our relationship with Him, we grow in our ministry.
How do we handle when those we minister with say or do something that brings a chilly air between us? When it’s hard to keep going and not feel an awkward space between us, how do we invite Jesus into the situation? If this is the reason that Christ came to earth – to forgive us – how are we to initiate forgiveness to others? Maybe they don’t even know they hurt us.
As my mom, author and counselor Dr. Helen McIntosh shares, “There’s a part of our heart that is like a river that flows downstream to the deep and broken places in our lives.” What will we do with the pain that pools there? Will we offer forgiveness and try to reconcile our hearts to those we minister with? Whether it’s a staff member, ministry partner, prayer partner, best friend, or supporter, our relationships with others in ministry matter.
Our message depends on how we love each other and deepens because of it.
Many people are hurting in relationships and are not necessarily choosing God’s path toward restoring the rifts between them. They’re discouraged by the problems around them and not remembering His principles and how good it is to follow His path.
We can be quick to give up on a person or situation, but we’re called to restore ourselves to them. Often, we don’t do hard things well. But we can aspire to see what God has for us and for those we walk alongside in ministry and how He wants us to move toward those promised places He has for us, including being restored to others.
A phrase I often say when I don’t know what else to say is: “Lord, you have me and you have this situation.”
Prayer is our best tool! But Jesus provides a way for us to reconcile and maybe you’re like me and needed to be reminded of this verse:
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sinfor us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
2 Corinthians 5:17-21 NIV
Question: In this season, how is God calling you to reconcile with others? What is God calling you to put in the past to bring forth something new?
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About Blythe Daniel
Blythe Daniel is a literary agent, author, and marketer with The Blythe Daniel Agency, Inc. The agency markets books through traditional media and other promotional channels. Blythe represents adult non-fiction and select fiction along with some children’s fiction and non-fiction. Blythe was the publicity director and marketing director for Harper Collins Christian Publishing for seven years and has spent the last 20 years as a literary agent. Blythe and her mother, Dr. Helen McIntosh, have co-authored: Mended: Restoring the Hearts of Mothers and Daughters (Harvest House) and I Love You Mom: Cherished Word Gifts from My Heart to Yours (Tyndale). Blythe and her daughter Calyn co-authored Let’s Be Friends: A Tween Devotional on Finding and Keeping Strong Friendships (Harvest House, 2023). Blythe, her mother and her son, William Daniel, co-authored I Love You, Dad! Words to Honor and Humor You (End Game Press). Blythe lives in Colorado with her family.