How can we strengthen ourselves? How do we react to situations and issues that arise in our office, ministry, and children? Do we rant and rave after losing our keys, or our car jammed into traffic, or after we are being billed for our electricity and water consumptions? How do we keep our cool and not burst into anger? Many Christians may not rant and rave because they understood and knew that it is a sin to have an outburst of anger but even then, in silence, their thoughts traverse through hell as they remain angry and bitter in their hearts because of the situations they face.

They learned how to be polite but deep down they keep an angry, angry, angry heart. Some ministers are often offended when his flocks decrease in number while his neighbours increase because the people whom he is shepherding had escaped from his latch and went to the other side.  Some ministers on the other hand may keep silence but remain angry inside. They are angry that those with powerful and wealthy ministries are taking also their flocks with them. Such deep abiding anger is usually rooted in our earthly perspectives that ministry means keeping people in a four enclosed walls. Ministry was never taught to be keeping people forever immature and forever sitting in the pews. To be correct, let us study the following verses:

But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says:

“When he ascended on high,
he led captives in his train
and gave gifts to men.”  

 (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Eph 4:7-14

Here Paul was saying that grace was given to each one as Christ sees it fit when He rose to heaven. He specifically gave the five fold ministry offices of an apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastors and teachers “for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ” (Eph 4:12 NASB). These were given by Christ when He ascended, meaning, those who are working in these offices, those called to these offices were already pre-determined by God for the sake of building up the Body of Christ. When it says for the sake of the building up of the Body of Christ, it also means that those in the Body, the members of the Body should also function as called by God. Everyone who is truly born again will have that yearning in his heart to serve God in whatever capacity he can. One can serve Him in the office as an administrator, lawyer, worker or even as a janitor, or as a nurse and doctor. God has taught me that ministry is not just serving in the four closed walls of the church building. Just as Jesus did most of His ministry works in common places such as in the streets, mountain tops, hills, seasides and even in the market, Jesus should be as comfortable and close with us in the places of our work just as He is during Sundays.

The main reason why there is so much divisions, dissensions, quarrels, and general lukewarmness among God’s people today is that most of them are not being equipped and released to their calling. Some ministers have made a doctrine that only those with college degrees from theological institutions are qualified to divide the Word of God. If we make this the basis of our calling, then there are not many who are qualified to preach because even in the Bible most of the preachers and teachers did not have a college degree! This does not negate the need for training which is why the Lord instituted that every convert must be discipled so that he can become a functioning member of the local church. If want to make more impact, we should disciple people to become God’s workers who are also able to preach, teach and study the Word of God without us.

We should prepare people to become independent and to seek God for themselves as they grow up instead of making our ministries or services indispensable to them. This is why in the Bible it is written that in the last days, “woe to those who kept their people immature!” Is this statement found in the Bible? Yes and I quote: “But woe to those who are with child and to those who nurse babes in those days!” (Matt 24:19 NASB). Even the writer of Hebrews lamented that he could only give his readers milk instead of meat, “anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil” (Heb 5:13-14). So what does this tell us? It illustrates that every person that is added to the church must know with clarity and recognize his own calling from God.

Everyone is called to run the race that was set for them and if we are not being equipped properly, let us hunger for the Word of God to manifest in our lives by hearing others such as teachers, pastors and writers beside our pastor in the church. If we are consistently encouraged by their teachings, then by all means, we should take advantage of what they could offer to us so that we too can be transformed like them. Most gallup polls among Christians show that in general only 20% understand and knew how to walk in their callings but the other 80% are left wandering in the wilderness.

Question: how come this is so pervasive among our generation which had almost every known hi-tech devices one could use to listen to teachings and read Christian books and articles instantly? While information could be available and abundant, the “environment” to learn how to pick up the most useful and relevant to our understanding and growth in the Christian life may not be present to everyone. Discernment comes from a growing relationship with God and with each other members in the local church setting.

It takes grace and wisdom to grow in the Spirit and the processes that can bring us victory in walking towards our calling maybe circumvented. For instance we are all astonished at the rapid pace of development and growth of the early Church as well as how the Lord could train twelve people to become the pillar of His church. But if we look carefully into their history, we see that Jesus and His little band of twelve almost suffered daily persecution, humiliation, threats and poverty. The very pressure that threatened to engulf and destroy them was a catalyst for their transformation.  

Yes we would all like to be a Peter, Paul and John or Jesus, but how many would be really willing to bear their cross daily? How many are truly thankful about their circumstances everyday? Thus, because of our superficial Christianity, we also have superficial lives. Only the grace of God can transform us so that we can become true believers who are willing to suffer for their Lord and Savior regardless of the cost to our lives or properties. King David became a great King by virtue of his sufferings in the hands of Saul and the wisdom he gained from this experience taught him one thing: dependence on God. For instance when his comrades were ready to stone him because of the pillage done in Ziklag, he did not hesitate to ask God first. He was not afraid of what man can do to him and above all, he was willing to wait for the word of God first before doing any major decision.

David and his men reached Ziklag on the third day. Now the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it, and had taken captive the women and all who were in it, both young and old. They killed none of them, but carried them off as they went on their way.

When David and his men came to Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep. David's two wives had been captured — Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God. 1 Sam 30:1-6

Do you think you can respond with the same faith and the same courage that David did when you will have your own Ziklag experience? Do you think you will bear with grace the accusations, the pressure and the brunt of blame that your own people will hurl to your face? What is remarkable in David’s response throughout the Scriptures is that it is often repeated that he “inquired of the Lord.” Compared to King Saul who often wanted divine guidance but was given none, David had a relationship with God like we do in the New Covenant. His life is a prophetic foreshadowing of our lives in the New Covenant—those who receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior receive a covenant and a kingdom with God. We become a covenant people with God by receiving Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. For King Saul, he wanted the blessings of the Lord like Cain and Esau yearned for, but he does not want to have anything to do with Him.

There are those people who like King Saul only wanted the benefits of God, His blessings but not Him or His commands and are destined to perish into oblivion and into the fire. It is a tragedy that King Saul who received a Kingdom perished in the hands of the wicked because he rejected and persecuted David out of envy. The very one who could have helped him establish his kingdom securely, he considered his enemy while the real enemy are the Philistines and Amalekites who are at large.

We may not have experienced the circumstances that surrounded David, we may not have been thrown a javelin or spear, and we may not have been betrayed by a friend, or abandoned by a father or considered an enemy of a former mentor but nonetheless, our response during crises and stressful times determines how God will also act on our behalf. Do we respond like the heathens who do not know God when we get a flat tire, loss our keys or loss our jobs? Common circumstances handled properly in a Christlike manner can release us to grow in His graces and fruitfulness. Let’s look again at how a man of faith should respond to stressful situations:

David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God.

Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.” Abiathar brought it to him, and David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?”

“Pursue them,” he answered. “You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue.” 1 Sam 30:6-8

Clearly, David was no man pleaser nor was he anxious or even feeling fearful because even in the very midst those who are talking how to kill him he did not flinch or bowed to the pressure of their demands. He responded like no other king did before him, he asked the priest to bring the ephod and inquired of God. This certainly means much to us these days! If you are deciding on buying a house, car or even a whole farm, it pays to hear and wait from the Lord before engaging into a business transaction. This also tells us that we should not be rush in making human decisions especially on relationships.

Some, because of wishful thinking married the wrong person after a whirlwind of romance without really asking the Lord’s guidance on the matter. Then after a few weeks into the marriage, they discover that they are not fit together. Others because of greed try to buy every new and fashionable item in the market place because they still think their resources is theirs to spend instead of being the good stewards for what God entrusted them. We should learn to wait on God to stop being wasteful of the resources He has given us. And part of waiting on God is to research a matter as David did, diligently inquiring from all resources we could get from and weighing on them carefully which one is all truth. When we get the piece of truth, let us also be humble to know that even what we know may not be the complete understanding of the matter. Then we should move in faith trusting God for what we really lack.

“In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears. Ps 18:6

“You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress,
a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless
is like a storm driving against a wall” Isa 25:4

“Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him” Job 13:15