Each morning as I pray over the different ministries in MorningStar, I am confronted by the truth that what we are doing is far beyond my ability to control. I could spend all of my time with any one of the eight major ministry divisions and it would not be enough, yet I can only give each one a tiny fraction of my time. I am also challenged by the fact that each of these ministries can have an impact on Christians around the world because of the influence that we have. As I was pondering the weight of this responsibility, I began to think of my family, and how I can only give a fraction of my time to them. The burden and guilt of this was getting heavy on me until I felt the presence of the Lord. It was as if He was putting a hand on my shoulder. He then reminded me that He upholds the universe with His power; this little ministry and my little family are no problem!

I have come to believe that all human responsibilities are beyond human ability. That means that there is nothing that we can do right without God. It is because I cannot micro-manage our ministry that it leaves plenty of room for Him to move. It also leaves room for others to grow in the ministry. This is not to promote irresponsibility on my part, such as not spending the right amount of time with the ministry or with my family, but the right amount is found in each of these areas by following the Lord and being obedient day by day. I will not get anything right if I do not get this part right. The Lord said in Matthew 11:29-30:
 

When I first read how the Lord will reward His faithful servants by giving them cities to rule over in the kingdom, I was shocked. That did not sound like a reward to me, but punishment! I did not even want to oversee a neighborhood, much less a city. If I could do just what I wanted to do, it would be to spend all of my time in prayer, study, and with my family. I love the fellowship of the church, but overseeing even a small church is beyond any desire that I have, much less a large ministry with a growing number of churches. However, I have found that it is in the place of responsibility that we can have very close fellowship with the Lord. He is the King of kings, so responsibility is what He does. We are in training for reigning with Him. The reigning may not be the reward, but the fellowship with Him in reigning will be our reward. If we want to abide with Him we must learn to find fellowship with Him in all responsibility, and in all authority.  

The year of 2000 was a sabbatical year for our ministry. Although we greatly reduced our activities to honor it, I do not ever remember being busier. However, the true issue of a sabbatical is not just resting from work, but it is learning to abide in the Lord and His rest. The Lord helped us to enter His rest by giving us so much to do that we could not possibly do it without Him.

I was reading an article on what separates people like Tiger Woods and other star athletes from their peers who sometimes have more talent. The conclusion was that it was their ability to stay focused and to stay calm under pressure. This is also probably a key issue that separates those who bear much fruit from those who are bearing little or none. However, our focus is not just on our tasks, but also on something infinitely greater—the Lord Himself. We are not just trying to stay calm, but abide in the peace of the Lord.

Studies have shown that one minute of rage can sap the strength of a normal eight hour period. Just being angry for a few minutes can do the same thing. Worry also drains our energy at an amazing rate, even much faster than hard labor. How much more effective could we be, and how much more energy would we have, if we would abide in the peace of the Lord? Could this be why Paul wrote that "...the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet" (see Romans 16:20)?

This is also a reason why elders in the church cannot be "quick tempered" (see Titus 1:7), or given to outbursts of anger. There are few things that can sap our effectiveness like anger, or fear. In contrast, faith releases the power that created the universe.

We often think of great faith as something that happens spontaneously so that we can be used for a miracle or healing. However, the greatest faith of all, and the most effective, is to live day by day trusting Him. It is by trusting Him so much that we look at every problem as an opportunity to see His work in our lives. It is not worrying, but rather trusting and abiding in the peace of God that will crush anything that Satan tries to do to us. If the Lord created the world out of chaos, He can easily deal with any problem that we have.

I have heard many Christians say that they know the Lord can do miracles, but they just do not know if He will. However, He has said that He always will do miracles if we believe Him. Therefore, as we read in John 6:28-29:
 

Our main job is not to build a church, or a ministry, but to grow in the Lord and to grow in faith. As a ministry we are just now being moved into position to begin our ultimate mission. When we look at the task we will always be overwhelmed because it will always be much bigger than we are. It is at the point where we cannot do it that He takes over. Our goal is not the work itself, but to grow in faith in the One who alone can accomplish it.

We have been promised that we are entering a time when we will see great miracles. We need to also understand that this is probably because we are being thrust into a place where we are going to need them. Even so, that is what most of us have signed up for. We want to be a part of what God is building, not men.  

 Let us continue to prepare for our purpose by seeing every problem, every obstacle, as an opportunity to see a miracle. Let us determine to abide in the peace of God so that we can see the God of peace crush Satan under our feet (see Romans 16:20). We must also recognize anger and wrath as the great enemies of our purposes. We cannot allow them to gain entry into the fortress of faith that we are called to build. They are the primary enemies who will seek to drain us of our faith, our focus, and even the physical energy that we have been given.