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Remember the game "king of the hill"?  One guy gets on the mound and all the other kids gather around him and work to take him down.  The guy that can hold the hill is the winner, the "tough guy."  They come at him from all sides, front, back and sides.  He pays a big price to use his strength and wit to hold the hill.  It's all the way the world works.

People think in ministry it works the same way.  They admire the person, want to be like him, some take him on to learn where they stand, and they attack from all sides, to knock him down.  But in our due time, the one God raises up for us is someone - in the flesh - that God raises up, not by any merit of their own.

They have flaws, and people covet their attention, their wealth, their strength, their seeming favor for the moment.  So the others go for the weakness, forgetting what God did through the person, they just want their glory, but the glory came from God, not the person. 

Sometimes people "check out" of the ministry because of the pressure.  Sometimes they crater under it.  And then people throw their parting shots or rocks.

At Times Being in Ministry Hurts

Most in ministry have gone through hurt and betrayal and there is no question that it's hard and it hurts.  A number of us have faced death threats of varying sorts.  Only God saves, heals and delivers.  He will use the Body that He can, if it is available with their reasonable service.

All that to say, if you look to God, when He chooses, He will reveal Himself, His power, His glory and His majesty.  If you look to identify with a human being for that, or even in yourself, you will surely be disappointed, if not hurt.  Most called to ministry for any length of time have learned this.

When God decides to give or lift His glory and/or His revelation, no man in the world can conjure it up, and it will be obvious.  God will use men (and women) and many if not most all will end up crucified some way like Jesus was. 

I can speak from my own weakness that I want to attain His greatness, but there is a divide between God and man that will always be there.  Others can promise away, but I have had my encounters with His awesomeness and it wasn't me!

What we get, if we can figure it out and do it right, is encounters.  We need to know when to let go of people and realize that it really is just God, one on one, in the revelation and demonstration.  We are honored if we get to be a part, and responsible for what we have received.

Pam Clark