It Worth the WorK

     Well, I am waking up this morning in Montana. I am sitting at a friend’s cabin looking out at the snow covered mountains. It is a great place to be. When we come back to Montana, we feel like we have come to our second home. It was great getting off the plane and having friends greet us with balloons and crazy hats. We have many deep relationships with people from walking through some spiritual growing experiences together. Also, they were our first church and we always consider them our babies in the ministry. If you were to ask me today, I would say that any hard times we experienced in our ministry here in Montana was worth it. However, I did not see it like that when we began South Hills Fellowship fifteen years ago. There were many days of tears and loneliness. My first day in Montana was sitting at a restaurant with my kids, crying because we had no place to live. We couldn’t find a place to rent and was suppose to stay at a person’s home until we could but they were out of town and we couldn’t find the person with the keys. I remember being homesick for a place that I fit in. Montana people are not like us southerners and sometimes they didn’t know what to think about us. I remember having 10 people at our first church service. I asked God the selfish question, “Why did you take us from teaching a Sunday School class of seventy-five, send us to seminary for 2 years, just to give us a church of 10 people?” I am very ashamed of that question today. I learned that 10 people here in Helena meant 10 lives were changed. I learned that each person God brought our way wasn’t playing church (they didn’t have any church background), they were truly lives being changed and God used us to love them. Each of them was worth any sacrifice I thought I was paying. Today we have the blessing of seeing a beautiful church standing on a hilltop, ministering to a community and knowing that God used us to start His vision. What an honor and what a blessing!
     God may not call you to start a church, or move you across the country, but you have been called by God to serve Him! Whatever your ‘service' is, it will be hard because if it wasn't, you wouldn’t depend on God. I will assure you that when you follow through with your assignment, you will be amazed at what God can and will do. There is nothing that will bring you more humbleness, honor, and blessing.
     What is God calling you to? Do you feel like quitting sometimes? Does it seem like you're not making a difference? Trust God to do the work and simply concentrate on being obedient to Him and His plan. You will see the fruit of your labor; even if it is not until the day you stand before Jesus receiving your rewards! Keep on keeping on!!!

We pray that you’ll live well for the Master, making him proud of you as you work hard in his orchard. As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work.
Colossians 1:10 (The Message)