“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”  2 Timothy 4:7

Ministry is not a career choice, nor a profession. It is more often a war. It’s a spiritual conflict that’s waged on a human scale, by weak but dedicated warriors. It’s a lifestyle involving nearly constant battle for serious stakes: captured souls and stolen glory all taken out of the hands of a wicked enemy for the sake of a wonderful King. For the Apostle Paul, ministry often meant conflict and confusion, short stays and slander, riots, beatings, show trials and midnight escapes. No, it was we moderns who added the “professional” dimension to ministry, much later in the pastoral pilgrimage. But ministry is a battle first. Always has been.And battles are often ugly, costly and chaotic.

If you are an Elder or a vocational Pastor and right now you’re going through a firefight in your ministry, don’t confuse yourself by thinking that what you’re experiencing is unusual. The effort to free people from the dominance of sin, even redeemed people, can be a grim work at times.Paul said he served in ministry “With all humility, tears and trials”.  And yet through it all, right up to the very end, he ran that race with joy. He called the last days of his ministry experience the final battle of the good fight. Christian leader, don’t reproach yourself if you find you’re in a battle today. Thank God for the privilege of being involved in the conflict for the souls of men  and women. And stand into the battle line where God has placed you, one more time.