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Dear Friends,
The Be-Attitude for this month is "Be Joyous."
How is your joy level these days?
We can easily let the stresses of life rob us of joy. Yet, we are commanded to "rejoice in the Lord always" (Phil. 4:4). Hmmmm. Let's not miss a very important phrase in that verse: "rejoice IN THE LORD always." If we substitute anything else but the Lord as our source of joy, we will not find ourselves rejoicing "always."
In ministry we might be tempted to find joy "in a job well done." Met goals do bring a sense of accomplishment. First, however, they need to be the right goals. As an example, read about the basic goals of managing the classroom. Second, even if you have the right goals and you see God use you
to accomplish them, it isn't about what you did but rather what God did. Back up even further: If God hadn't first done a work in your life in salvation, you wouldn't be in that position to be used by Him. (See Lk. 10:17-20, paying particular attention to Jesus' words in verse 20.)
Perhaps then, rather than looking at the end results, we can find joy "in the process."
You may have heard of Inductive Bible Study, this month's teaching method, being
the
joy of discovery. There is something that happens as we go through the process that does not happen when we are merely told what to believe. Keep in mind, however, that if your study only results in knowing more about God and not knowing Him more intimately, even that will be short-lived joy. You need something that will energize you once the process is completed if you are going to rejoice "always."
Both the end result and the process matter but somewhere along the way you have probably heard that people matter most. Perhaps you can find joy in helping people. A new page has been put on the MinTools.com site with resources for Special Needs and Disability Ministry. And, don't forget the People Helping Ministry Resources page that has been on the site. Jesus used a parable to illustrate that what we do for others is like
doing it to Him. (See Matt. 25:31-46.) Even in reaching out to others with the love of Christ, it gets back to the Lord. We serve Him by ministering to others.
People, the process, and the end result are all a part of ministry. If you look for joy in these, you are bound to be disappointed or disillusioned along the way. If, however, you "rejoice IN THE LORD," even in the face of missed goals, faulty processes, and unchanging people, you do not have to fall into despair. Rather, you can still rejoice "always."
With joy in Jesus,
Phyllis Kline
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