Fulfilling Your Ministry

But as for you, be serious about everything, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. 2 Timothy 4:5

“Proclaim the gospel, persist in it whether it is convenient or not, rebuke, correct and encourage with great patience and teaching.” 2 Timothy 4:2

When it comes to following Jesus, all believers are charged with advancing the Gospel, and fulfilling their ministry.  Those ministries and gifts may play out differently, but we share the same message and serve the same Savior. In our walk of ministry, we will experience times of weariness and discouragement. These times often and ironically come after spiritual highs.

In one of those moments this past week, I was asking God to help me push past emotions and weariness and give me wisdom to keep moving forward. That very morning, I read the words of 2 Timothy 4:2, which Paul penned as his life was coming to a close. Words in which he passed on a great trust to Timothy, words full of meaning and carrying great weight. God spoke through those words and encouraged me too. I was reminded to persist in spite of feelings, human weakness and seemingly unanswered prayers. In fact, if I had to boil down fulfilling my ministry to one word, it would be the word “persist”.

Persist is a word I have a love-hate relationship with depending on which part of me is at the helm of my heart, the flesh or the Spirit.  Our culture does not cultivate persistence, and persistence always comes with a heaping side of patience (not fries). Many follow the path of least resistance daily and wonder why they haven’t attained their deepest desires. Fast food, fast lanes, text, social media, credit cards, easy access to all forms of drugs, online divorce and the great disparity between how easy it is to kill a baby and how hard it is to adopt one, all appeal greatly to the flesh. No, persistence is an action that flies in the face of our culture. There is nothing convenient about persisting. But, God wouldn’t ask us to do something He doesn’t empower us to do. He’s not that kind of God. Thankfully, his strength is perfect when ours is weak (Philippians 4:13).

So, here’s what I love about the word persist. It’s do-able. There are a lot of things I absolutely can’t do. I don’t possess other people’s talents, skills, brains, backgrounds, experiences, beauty or abilities, but God is not asking for those things. He’s asking me to give Him what I do have (Mark 12:44) and to persist.  What a relief! It’s not my talent that makes me effective, it’s God taking what I give Him and making much out of it! That’s an order I can fill.

I love it that Paul likened fulfilling his ministry to running a race. I will never forget my first half-marathon, because nothing teaches the benefits of persistence like running a marathon! After moving to the Pacific Northwest I discovered a love for running. The climate here is perfect running weather and the mountain views are beautiful. Training for the marathon took a lot of discipline, effort, consistency and time. When it came time to run the race, I was as prepared as I could be. I had done my part to get ready for that day.

I leaned heavily on that training until about mile eleven. Eleven miles was as far as I had been in my practice due to an injury I had sustained along the way. I had two more uphill miles to go and everything in me was screaming for me to quit! My feet, legs, lungs, and mind were done! I remember praying and asking the Lord to help me finish. Somehow, I kept putting one foot in front of the other. It wasn’t graceful, or pretty, but by the grace and power of God, I did not stop running. 

I can’t describe “how” I finished or the incredible euphoria I felt as I crossed the finish line. What an unbelievable reward to personally experience God carrying me forward step by step when I was done in every way! It was brutal for those two miles (and not easy on the other miles), but I wouldn’t trade knowing what I know because of that experience for anything in this world. I still remember how amazing it felt to have that ribbon placed around my neck and to have completed that race. All of that was only a glimpse of how I am going to feel, Lord-willing, when I get to end of my life and look back and say with Paul, “I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7) When the flesh screams loud, may I keep my eyes on Jesus and follow Him step by persistent step.