Page 23 - BMIN191 Beginnning Internship

The Heart of Ministry 23

heart can emerge from a variety of circumstances. While the wrongdoing of
others can get it started, there are also the wounds of sorrow. Periods of sadness
and depression can also corrode the heart with resentment, as can lost dreams or
shattered successes.
13 Describe a time when Unforgiveness is the ugly conscience of a resentful heart, so a minister needs
you battled resentment. How to stay on the alert for the many ways and circumstances in which it steps to
did you overcome it? the forefront. While its form may vary, the end result looks much the same—a
hardened heart, inability to love, and absence of joy.
Biblical Examples
No one knows better than the minister the magnitude of God’s forgiveness. In
your life of ministry, you will see God’s grace extended to the most impossible
situations. This is the nature God has revealed and the message of hope He has
placed within us.
Jonah, however, lacked a desire for the forgiveness God could extend. He
demonstrated many efforts to avoid the proclamation of God’s love when it
came to the people of Nineveh. After all, they had been wicked and unfair to
Jonah’s people. Perhaps Jonah’s own family had even felt the brunt of Assyrian
domination. For whatever motive, Jonah would have rather died than see such
people worship God. And he almost did.
Jonah’s story is not too far removed from us. While we may lack the same
fervor or national hatred, a grace dependent on us would fall well short of the
grace we have been given. Jesus told of a servant who was forgiven a huge debt
only to go out and treat his own debtor harshly. The minister’s knowledge and
experience of God’s grace must eliminate unwillingness to forgive offenders.
It is of note that Jonah’s story ends with him still wanting to die though he
is sitting amidst one of the greatest revivals of human history. As with Jonah, a
resentful heart will steal the true measure of ministry from the minister’s heart.
Evidence and Results
Ministers have feelings. Such a statement may seem obvious and unnecessary,
but the minister will occasionally be treated as though it is impossible for him or
her to be hurt. If a hurtful experience continues to affect the minister, he or she may
be harboring resentment. Such a heart needs only two things to develop—a cause
and time. Jesus warned His disciples of this potential condition when He spoke of
His coming death. He told them they would be treated similarly, and they were. The
minister must understand that to follow Christ still means to suffer for Christ.
Like the disciples, most ministers choose this path hoping to make a
difference and receive God’s rewards for their effort. They do not enter the
ministry looking forward to heartache and mistreatment. But such was the
experience of the Master; can His servants expect less?
Therefore, when past hurts keep haunting you, step back and take inventory
of your heart. Have you truly forgiven? Do you still wish the offenders would
get their deserved punishment? If these feelings continue to flood your thoughts,
resentment is present and should be dealt with before it steals your joy.
Pursuing Change
A number of the prophets came to a place where they wanted to die. Elijah
hid in a cave from Jezebel just a few days after his greatest victory. He was
persuaded that he had endured all that he could. God understood the struggling