Working without Tears

I recently read a book called “PASTORING WITHOUT TEARS” by Sunday Adelaja. It was so amazing that I highly recommend. Especially to the people who are serving God and pastoring in the churches.

Sometimes we become too busy to get close to God and even make a simply prayer in the morning. Our body start to feel exhaust and our Spiritual Life stop growing and burn out. We still keep working and serving because we think if we do not go to church and pastoring my church, it will stop growing. Some ministers may need to go for vacation to take a break for a while.  When they come back and serve for a few weeks, this kind of worries and exhausting come back again and again.

How can we solve this problem at the source?

Let us read how God helped Elijah to get it clear. 1 Kings 19:8~18

And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

10 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

14 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

15 The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. 16 Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. 17 Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. 18 Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”

First God start with a question, “Elijah, what are you doing here?” A question come to his heart so that he can ask himself, “Yeah, what am I doing here? Why I come to this cave and be afraid?”

God did not start to tell you what is wrong, you should not do this, you should not do that, etc.

God want you to ask yourself and check our heart first.

Elijah answered, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty.” What is the meaning of ‘very zealous’? It is actually his anxiety for God’s things, his nervous carefulness. Why? He explained, “The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword.” His reply repeat in Verse 14. It is not by accident, there must be some important things that God want you to pay attention to.

Elijah has not a weak character, nor a minister with weak personality. He has done a lot of miracle

things by prayer. But why he become so weak at this point?

Take God’s place to be anxious and nervous is the beginning of discuss and frustration.  The purpose of God’s calling you to serve is not make you worry. Instead, he who called you to serve want you have a thankful heart to fulfill each thing by grace of God. You are not the ONLY person to serve in that particular field. You are not the foreman, capataz and boss. You are coworker of God. We must know that God himself take care of his work.  If you want to hold the responsibility of God on your shoulder and try to rely on your personal experiences rather than God, you will lose the grace of God rapidly. Because your put yourself on God’s position.

The church is not belong to pastors, instead, it belongs to Jesus Christ.

The ministry is not belong to any leaders, instead, it belong to Jesus Christ. …

My friend, put anything on God’s hand. Work, families, kids, churches and ministries are all belong to him. No more tears and anxiety, try your best to make your plan and make it happen, spend your time with God every morning, then sit back and relax.

Working without Tears