This is Part 2 of a series on “Pursuing Gospel Joy” in church ministry. Visit replantblog.com to read more from the series.
Can I admit something to you? There have been many times in my life when my relationship with the Lord has been dry, stale, and tough. On the one hand, it seemed God was silent, distant, and unaffected by my concerns. On the other hand, I felt like it was a chore – a drudgery that bored me – and didn’t appear to make any impact in my life. Consequently, it was easy to ignore or neglect, even though everything inside me screamed I shouldn’t.
Add to this the dark vortex of a struggling church with naysayers and few supporters, and it becomes a volatile combination – poised to erupt and do damage to self and others around me. The lack of success (by any standard), the need to do so much myself with no one else to help, the negative momentum, and the stresses it caused on my family: These are just some of the factors that warred against any joy in my life.
And it was so disheartening and discouraging, with no end in sight.
Earlier in my life, I was pastoring a church that was challenging, to say the least. We simply couldn’t make any progress. Every time it appeared we were moving forward, a key family would move or our offerings would go down. Depression lurked in the shadows.
I remember agonizing over this in prayer one day, almost blaming God for the lack of success we were seeing. “I thought you called me here to see a great work take place, God,” I argued. “But I see virtually no evidence of that … why not?” To which, God clearly replied, “I can’t do a great work through you until I do a great work in you.”
That lesson has reminded me over and over that renewal begins in me. Most of you who are reading this are pastors or key leaders in the church where you serve. May I just say to you, first of all, thank you for your perseverance in a challenging time and place. Your ongoing commitment to the work of the Lord there says volumes about the character of your life.
Second, may I remind you, “as the leaders go, so goes the church.” In other words, before you can see the church renewed, you must be renewed or in a continual state of renewal. This “mirror effect” is seen in the life of the congregation after a pastor has been there for about seven years. If your tenure is shorter than that, the congregation largely is reflecting the image and lifestyle of your predecessor. Don’t lose heart! Perseverance will win the day, if you stay close to God and cultivate your relationship with Him.
That “if” is big, because so many distractions and excuses compete for our hearts and attention. “Should we do what the church down the street is doing? “ “How many did we have at our last worship gathering and how does that compare to last week?” “If I don’t do it, who will? God understands when I can’t spend time with Him; after all, He called me to this work.” And the list goes on and on ….
Soon, these distractions and excuses have robbed us of any contentment and peace we should be experiencing. Their devious arrows have pierced our hearts and captured our joy.
If your life experiences resonate with mine, and these experiences sound woefully familiar, then may I humbly share the discovery that reoriented and changed my life?
Fall in love with Jesus again.
The challenge Jesus held out to the church at Ephesus in Revelation 2:1-7 is clear and eye-opening for those of us lost in the busyness of our ministry. Recapturing that missing joy comes from renewing our relationship (not our work) with Jesus.
How do we do that?
First, Jesus commands them to remember from where they have fallen. In other words, what was your life like when Jesus rescued you from sin and its inevitable consequences? How did His salvation make you feel? What new thoughts, desires, and experiences flooded your life? For me, that moment is forever etched in my mind. I felt clean, loved, forgiven, and I couldn’t wait to celebrate God and tell others about Him.
Memory is a powerful trigger in our lives to help us reprioritize what is truly important. Jesus commands us to return to this place in our hearts and minds, in order to recapture our love for Him.
Second, Jesus commands them to repent. In fact, this is so important He repeats it in the same paragraph. I believe Jesus is reminding us that our joy can’t be full unless our confession is real. In other words, we have to “cast aside every hindrance that easily distracts us and the sin that so easily entangle us” (Hebr. 12:1) for God to fill us with His Spirit. If confession is “agreeing with God about what He already knows to be true,” then this practice does more than admit this reality to Him. It acknowledges our sin and shortcomings to self, emptying out the clutter that occupies the space His love and joy should inhabit.
Confession and repentance has become a regular daily part of my time with God. If I’m not open and honest about this with Him, I feel as though I am holding onto something I know will rival my affection and obedience for Him. It builds humility and dependance, and constantly renews my sense of His mercy and grace. This amplifies my joy.
Finally, Jesus commands them to do the things they did at first. In other words, much of what the Ephesians were doing was busy work, distracting efforts, complicating lives, and cluttering hearts with stuff that robbed them of their joy and caused them to neglect their love relationship with their Lord. (Can I get a witness?) They needed to get back to the simplicity of sitting at the feet of the Master and making their time with Him the priority of every day. Everything else in my life is dependent on this.
Personally, this means regularly writing out my prayers and reading Scripture in a fresh way – often out loud! I vary translations to keep the message fresh and alive. I pray back to God Scripture that He has drawn to my attention. I organize my prayers into daily categories throughout the week and make sure I’m not allowing this part of my life to be random or an afterthought. It is the most important time I have every day.
For me, pursuing joy means pursuing Jesus. If we run after Him, eager to rekindle and grow our love for Him, with Him, then joy will follow. And peace. And contentment. And humility. And wonder. Because all of this is wrapped up in an amazing, abiding relationship with our living Lord. He makes all things new!
So, “let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross …. Consider Him, who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” (Hebr. 12:2-3)
David Jackson is a replant specialist with the Replant Team of the North American Mission Board. Watch for his new manual for you and your church on recapturing your lost love for Jesus, entitled Falling in Love with Jesus (Again), coming soon.
Published October 4, 2024
