When you have given all you have to give ... when you are spent beyond measure ... and when you have invested every amount of strength and enthusiasm that you can stir up ... but people are still unsatisfied with your ministry, what do you do then?
When you have worked long hours ... listened to other people's wisdom and input ... and even begged God for more strength ... and yet still your efforts have fallen short of the expectation of others, what do you do then?
When is enough ... enough already?
The key is this—don't ever lose your passion for serving the body of Christ regardless of the disappointment or judgment of people. We live and serve in the kingdom of God not for the approval of others but for the approval of God and God alone.
His opinion is truly the only one that matters and when He observes a man or a woman who is living in a place of passionate service and fervent calling, He is on His feet in a grand ovation. God is a Dad who is absolutely head over heels in love with you and is cheering you on with a ferocious pleasure.
So ... when is enough ... enough already? The simple and focused truth is that I can never give Him enough. I am already so deeply in debt to the Savior who has called me by my name that if I were to lay every remaining minute of my life at His feet, I would still owe Him another life time of love and of service.
One of the absolute necessities of serving the church in a healthy manner is to remember that enough is never enough. People will often demand more than humanly possible from those in the ministry and some will voice their frustrations much more loudly than they ever voice their thanksgivings.
But now serving the Lord is a different calling entirely! If a minister, teacher or pastor can understand that the calling is from God, and not from man, therefore the praise will come from God and not from men.
If a minister, teacher or pastor can be noble enough to place a greater value on eternal rewards rather than on temporary inconvenience, then each day will be a day of satisfaction and fulfillment rather than a day of frustration.
This is what I know ... when I cross my finish line ... I will cross it sweaty and not rusty. When I leave the boundaries of time and enter into the freedom of eternity, I will not leave with any regrets, any unfulfilled mission or any half-hearted dreams.
I will know that I have given all that I have and all that I am for the cause and commission of Christ.
Enough will never be enough. If I could live a thousand lives, Christ would have them all.
Carol McLeod is an author and popular speaker at women's conferences and retreats, where she teaches the Word of God with great joy and enthusiasm. Carol encourages and empowers women with passionate and practical, biblical messages mixed with her own special brand of hope and humor. She has written five books: No More Ordinary, Holy Estrogen!, The Rooms of a Woman's Heart and Defiant Joy! Her most recent book, Refined: Finding Joy in the Midst of the Fire, was released on Aug. 1. Her teaching DVD The Rooms of a Woman's Heart won the Telly Award, a prestigious industry award for excellence in religious programming.
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