One of the hardest things about being in any ministry is feeling like it isn't working. We start to question God when we knew we heard from Him so clearly and it doesn't look the way we thought it would.
But...
Isn't that what the enemy does? He feels the need to distract us from what the Lord has us doing. He wants you to see the failure instead the flourish.
I recently felt led to teach a class on how to study the Bible in context, starting in Ephesians. I knew I was not going to be perfect at this, but I was determined to be obedient. At first, I was going to do this live, but due to software issues, that failed, so I prerecorded the videos. So many people were pumped up and excited, and that had me excited. But as time went on, the interest decreased and it left me saying "I don't understand, Lord. Is it me?". Then I spoke with another author friend who kinda hit me in the face with a revelation. She told me about how Joyce Meyer started her ministry in her 40's and had nothing, started slow, and now she has over 155 books and other ministries. I looked up her story, and she was literally the same age as me when she started. Then my friend said, "Remember that conversation we had a while back?" and proceeded to repeat my words back to me.
She reminded me that we had recently talked about the disappointment of books sales, how so many authors struggle, and how the enemy uses numbers to attack our identity. I had told her that even if the books, the podcast, the blogs, the Bible resources, and the classes were for one person, then I would rather influence one for the Kingdom of God than to have all the sales, views, and listeners in the world, because ultimately it isn't just about the one, it's about The One.
Then she said, "Tiff... remember the one".
When things don't go as planned, it's easy to let "This isn't working" turn into "Maybe I'm not enough." But Ephesians 1 reminds us that in Christ, we are chosen, adopted, redeemed, forgiven, and sealed with the Holy Spirit. And over and over, Paul reminds us of the reason: for the praise of His glory. Our identity is found IN HIM.
For some women your ministry may be being a wife, mother, and homemaker. The teacher or boss that wonders if you're making a difference. Your discipleship may be sitting next to you in your coworker, or the friend that is struggling in a situation and needs advice or prayer. You may be struggling with sales, or He may have put you in a position that you have yet to understand the purpose for. If you're in this season, no matter your ministry, maybe the question isn't, "Why is this not going the way I pictured it?", maybe it's, "Is God being glorified through my faithfulness?"
A plan can change. Numbers can disappoint. Life may be chaotic. Things may seem to fail. Growth may look different than we expected. But keep pushing through, sis, because the goal was never our glory.
It was always His.
Remember The One.
