Minister: To attend to the wants and needs of others; to perform the functions of a cleric.
According to my standards, I’ve been something of a whiney baby lately. I’ve grown tired of encouraging myself and have deeply desired for someone to minister to me. I’ve needed someone to speak God’s word to me. To lift me up to the Father. To agree with me for healing and peace. To model the personal relationship we have with Christ here in our daily life. And I’ve wondered if God has heard any of my deepest longings because I stand alone. There is not another to share my walk and speak on my behalf.
So, I wallowed in self-pity for some time. Not much different from Elijah when he fled Jezebel. I’ve been in retreat as well. Just as Elijah was ministered to by an angel of God, the Holy Spirit has fed me when I’ve been too weak to feed on the Word myself.
God’s instructions are all about the “get up!” – get up and eat, get up and go, get up and speak. And I’ve been all about the “lift me up!” – lift me up for encouragement, lift me up for strength, lift me up for agreement. The more I’ve looked for someone to lift me up, the more down I’ve become. Somehow, it’s just become crystal clear to me that the only minister I need is the Holy Spirit. And the only person I need to be in agreement with is Christ. It’s not that I didn’t know this. It’s just that I’m human, and like all humans, I also overlook what’s truly for me while going after what I think I need. But thank God for His never-ending mercy and grace and His penchant for corrective parenting. Every time I veer off course, I come back with a lesson and understanding that strengthened me for the next stage of my journey.
So, brothers and sisters, I am sharing this word with you because I know you too are looking for someone to minister to you. On the surface this word may be pleasing. And at first glance, your church life and fellowship community fulfills your immediate needs. But I know from experience, for the deeper things you desire in Christ, only His Spirit can minister to you fully and satisfactorily.
If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed. ~ 1 Timothy 4:6
“If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him. ~ John 12:26
Reference verses:
1 Kings 19
John 12:20-36
1 Timothy 4:6-15