Complain and Compare? — or Rejoice in the Lord?

It breaks my heart as a missionary when I hear ministers of the gospel – whether pastors or missionaries or worship leaders or etc. etc. etc. – complain about the hardships that come with their ministries.  It breaks my heart because whatever God has called us to – He ALWAYS is faithful to give us the grace to endure – so rather than complain, we should rejoice that He sees in us something that makes us worthy of His calling.  We should remember that He instructed us to count it all joy – because it is temporary.  I am a woman who hates dirt, bugs, and disorder – and God sent me to a place with all of the above and I am grateful and satisfied in His place for me.  I am satisfied because I feel the Lord’s pleasure over my life and ministry.  I have no cause at all to complain.

It breaks my heart when I hear ministers of the gospel compare their work to another’s – whether they feel like their work is more or less important. Rather than comparing – we should be celebrating the victories that our co-laborers experience, and mourning with them over any defeats. When I hear from my friends in Rwanda who are training pastors; or Mozambique who are discipling leaders and providing protein with a egg farm; or in Tanzania who are building schools in villages where there are no schools; or in Senegal who train pastors and help children of the Talibe; or Cote D’Ivoire who provide medical care and Bible translation – I say Hallelujah our team of workers for the Kingdom is doing what He has called us to do.   And more than that I pray for them and when  I have resources available I support their work financially.

I guess it all boils down to where we find our contentment.  Mine is found in Him – and in Him alone!  So I choose to rejoice in my trials and rejoice in the victories of other minister’s of the gospel as well. After all — isn’t it all about Him???

Do all things without grumbling and complaining – Philippians 2:14

If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another. Galatians 6:3,4