There are certain times in our life when things just don’t seem to be going quite right. We all have those times when we are hit with a trial or get overwhelmed with the circumstances of our lives. Sometimes this makes us question the direction we are moving, other times it gives us conviction that we are doing exactly what God is calling us to do. This spiritual up and down type of battle happened to me a few weeks ago and gave me a little more clarity on how to improve my spiritual life.
There were so many doors that opened to me in the process of coming to work in ministry. It seemed as if God had his hand on my journey the entire way. I took the job to work in ministry and moved here right away. The thing is, I didn’t have a place to live; I was literally couch surfing for the first four nights I was in town. So during our first meeting that Monday, we said our prayer intentions and mine was to find a place to live. Later on that day a friend found somebody looking for a roommate. And it turned out to be somebody I knew. I called him, and later that day I was checking the house out and signing a lease. It was as if God was answering any prayer I had said lately. I was at peace and totally trusting in God to lead my way.
in spiritual attack, I am reminded that I am not in control and God is
And then things changed. I was being tempted and bothered by things that normally didn’t bother me. I couldn’t get over the fact that I was not at peace. I was on my way to the ministry office after just moving into my house, and I got into a wreck and received a ticket. The other person involved was fine and so was I, but while I was ok physically, on the inside, mentally and spiritually, I was not.
I very quickly started to think that I could not be successful living in this new city, and working in this new ministry. I became insecure about my finances, and thought about all the things that could happen to deplete my savings. I started to doubt my ability of working in ministry and going to graduate school at the same time. It was also weighing on me that I had to accept help from other people, like borrowing a vehicle from my parents and asking for advice on how to handle everything. In my mind, I knew I needed to take all of this to God in prayer. I was being spiritually attacked. This was the devil’s way of trying to bring me down.
the insecurities and spiritual unrest was a confirmation to me that I was going to be doing good work in this ministry, the work that God wanted me to be doing
While this could have made me want to quit, I knew quitting wasn’t the answer. I have always heard that ministries get attacked, especially when they are doing good work for the Lord. It says in Psalm 37:12-14, “The wicked plot against the just and grind their teeth at them; but the Lord laughs at them, knowing their day is coming. The wicked draw their swords; they string their bows to fell the poor and oppressed, to slaughter those whose way is honest.” This especially happens when beginning a new ministry. The discomfort I was getting from the insecurities and spiritual unrest was a confirmation to me that I was going to be doing good work in this ministry, the work that God wanted me to be doing.
Working in ministry gets messy, and God’s work will find opposition. I am finding this out more and more as I continue on this journey in ministry that I have taken. Fortunately, I have taken time to spend in prayer, to battle these spiritual attacks that come my way. Spiritual battle can seem daunting at times, and bring us close to the breaking point, but it is important to persevere in the Lord and his work.
[tweetthis]“The harvest is plenty but the laborers are few.” Matthew 9:37[/tweetthis]
–written by Jeremy Stavinoha, former youth minister of St. Anthony’s in Bryan