Have you ever gone out to serve others with all the zeal and love of God in your heart, and instead of returning joyously like the 72 disciples that Jesus sent out, you returned humiliated, rejected and hurt? It was really painful, wasn't it? That's because most of us are under the mistaken notion that we will be rewarded for doing the right thing and punished for doing wrong. That's a logical and fair assumption. But most of us find out the hard way that this is not the case in real life. Sometimes, we will have the unhappy and unfortunate experience of suffering for doing the right thing. We don't spend sleepless nights tossing and turning in our beds when we are punished for some wrong that we have committed, but when we go out to serve with all the right motives and have to suffer consequences, we will often find ourselves struggling with feelings of resentment and anger.
Such things are bound to happen sooner or later when we choose to serve God. We may give, forgive, forget, let go of our own will, obey God and serve with gentleness and humility and yet, we may be rewarded with nothing but rejection and humiliation. We should enter into ministry with our eyes wide open and keep in mind that if we serve others long enough we are sure to suffer wrong treatment for doing right things.
This painful reality is mentioned in 1 Peter 2: 20-23 : But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow His steps. “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth” When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly.” Jesus Himself declared in Jn. 15:20 “Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.”
Part of Peter's advice makes sense. If you are punished for doing wrong, you don't deserve any praise even if you patiently endure the punishment that is meted out. But who really cares when you do what is right and suffer for it with grace and patience? Let me tell you – God cares! God is pleased with you! God stands and applauds your efforts! Just look at Jesus. He spent His life giving and serving, and what did He get in return? He was mistreated, hated, insulted, scourged and finally nailed to a cross. If people treated the Son of God that way, then how can we, imperfect human beings that we are, expect to be treated any differently? We have only to read the moving chapter of Hebrews 11 to realize that servants of the living God down through the centuries have known ill-treatment. However we must never allow disillusionment to lead to bitterness and we must not stop serving the Lord just because of our bad experience in doing God's work.
2 Cor. 4:8-11 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed , but not in despair; persecuted but not abandoned; struck down but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that His life may be revealed in our mortal body.
The four underlined words outline the treatment we can expect when we go out to serve.
1. hard pressed : This involves stress brought on by difficult circumstances or people. When we are hard pressed we feel harassed and oppressed, and this can sometimes cripple or kill our spirit.
2. perplexed : There are moments during our time in ministry when we may become confused, not knowing what to do or who to turn to. We may face obstacles such as being without the necessary resources or feeling embarrassed and in doubt as to the next course of action. We may wonder where God is and may occasionally even doubt whether He is really leading us in our ministry.
3. persecuted : This includes everything from being intimidated and insulted to being assaulted verbally and even physically. God's servants often become scapegoats. The prophet Daniel was a faithful, efficient, honest and dedicated worker. He served others with a pure heart but it backfired on him. The very people he worked with turned against him and set out to prove he lacked integrity. Although they failed to find any evidence against him, their actions must have hurt him deeply. Imagine being the object of investigation and gossip. Your words and actions are questioned and every move you make raises suspicion. And yet, there is not a shred of truth to it. You have devoted yourself to helping others and honoring the Lord, and this is the thanks you get. It takes the grace of God to press on under those circumstances and to accept His will over your own.
4. struck down : This means to be thrown down or shoved aside. Even though we may faithfully and consistently serve in our ministry, we can expect to occasionally be thrown aside and rejected, sometimes viciously.
We can only cope with the consequences of servant hood by bearing in mind that whatever happens is under the control of God. We may never know why things turn out the way they do, but we do know that our pain is no accident. It is all part of the Father's plan to conform us into the image of Christ and the painful experience is being used to empty our hands of our own resources and self-sufficiency, and to turn us back to Him, our faithful Provider.
Two passages came to my mind during a time recently when I was struggling to pick myself up and continue in the Lord's service after being struck down with a total sense of failure. One was from 1 Kings 19 where Elijah, after having won a great victory against 450 worshippers of Baal, heard that Queen Jezebel was out to kill him. He was filled with fear and ran for his life into the desert of Beersheba . There he sat down under a broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life….” His words may ring a familiar tune in some of our ears! But what was the Lord's response? After having ministered to Elijah's spirit, the Lord gave him this command, “Go back the way you came.”
The other passage was from Acts 14 which describes Paul healing a crippled man in Lystra. At first the crowd was so impressed that they wanted to offer sacrifices to Paul and Barnabas. However, when Paul and Barnabas tried desperately to draw the people's attention away from themselves and towards God, the true healer, the people turned against them and stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, leaving him for dead. But after the disciples had gathered around him, Paul got up and what did he do? He went back into the very city where the residents had tried to kill him!
What compelled Elijah and Paul to get up and go back? I believe they were motivated to keep going by the rewards promised by God for those who serve Him with a pure heart. There are more than 10,000 promises by God in the Bible but there are some specific promises His servants can claim today for themselves. There are times when the only hope that will keep you going will be something God has declared in His Word, promising that your work is not in vain. Mark these verses well in your Bible because there will surely be thankless days and long nights when these promises will be all you'll have to cling to:
When we have done what was needed but were ignored, misunderstood or forgotten, we can be sure it was not in vain (1Cor.15:58). When we did the right thing, with the right motive, but received no credit, no acknowledgement, not even a ‘thank you', we have God's promise that we shall reap a harvest (Gal. 6:9-10). When we have served and given and sacrificed and then willingly stepped aside for God to receive the glory, our heavenly Father promises we will receive back from Him (Eph. 6:7-8) The hope of all who serve God will be to hear these words from the Lord's lips when we finally meet Him, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” God is expecting us and is waiting to welcome us home one day. To those who answered His call and served, who walked the path that Jesus Christ took more than two thousand years ago, He promises a reward. And you can be sure He will keep His promise!
‘ Lord, I want to be like your early disciples who made an eternal difference for You. I want to speak out convincingly for You with boldness and authority. I want to face crises in life and insurmountable odds with the courage, determination and power that comes only from Your Holy Spirit. I want to cheerfully face persecution and suffering as You did…with a prayer of forgiveness on my lips. I want to graciously give to others, serving them joyfully. I want to celebrate Your death and resurrection. I want to help settle differences and bring about peace. I want to be an ambassador, a spokesperson, a messenger, for You. I want to be guided as to where to go and where not to go, what to do and say and what not to do and say. I want to make an eternal difference for You and Your kingdom. Amen.'
