Often our ministries will not grow and mature as quickly as we might like, but remember that God’s hand is upon it, pushing it forward at his pace. His slow pace is deliberate. Why? Because God wants us to slow down, to pause, ponder, savor, and celebrate all that he is doing in the world through Christ. He wants us to chew our food, not inhale it.

The Preacher in Ecclesiastes warned us well, did he not? “Everything is futility” is his opening blow to our fragile lives (Eccl 1:2). And what he meant was not that everything in life actually is futility, but that everything becomes futility when it replaces God as the treasure of the soul. But in a subtle manner, it is often the good things that replace the best thing.

As pastors who have long aspired for and loved the ministry, sometimes we can begin to expect things from ministry that God alone is meant to provide. We can begin to let this good thing (ministry) replace Christ as the treasure of our soul. As Lewis Allen writes, we pastors have “big hearts, big dreams, and big desires. But the preacher’s greatest loves may be his greatest dangers.”[1]

The Shock of Life Post-Seminary

In seminary, we pastors have all sorts of ideals and expectations of what ministry will one day be like – and many of those notions are good and noble. After graduation we are eager for opportunities to make an impact for the gospel. Yet, when we hop into the trenches of a local church with wounded and weary saints, we discover that the actual, in many ways, looks different than the theoretical. The classroom was simpler, cleaner.

This is what I call, “Post-seminary inertia,” which then leads to “Post-seminary trauma.” We sprint through seminary, graduate in pristine exegetical shape, imagining that our future church will share our zeal. It’s here we experience the inertia. When our expectations meet the reality of a real church filled with real people, the collision can be painful. And as you know, when two objects collide, there is always damage. This is the trauma.

In no way do I mean to make ministry sound like anything less than the weighty, joyful privilege that it is, but a life spent caring for sheep is not without its bumps, bruises, and bites. But I think most pastors would agree that ministry, in the midst of its challenges and difficulties, is a deep joy. Pastors must, however, fight to maintain their supreme delight in Christ in the midst of the struggles of ministry.

So we must ask ourselves the question: how do we sustain (and even increase) joy in the trenches of ministry? Below I offer what have been for me five ways to sustain and increase joy in the struggles and joys of ministry.

1. Remember to interpret life based not on your feelings, but your theology

 The entirety of our lives must rest upon the sovereignty of God, and this is especially true for those in ministry. To sustain and increase joy in ministry, we need to remind our souls that despite the pain, confusion, or exhaustion of the moment, God is there. He is there in the less-than-clear counseling cases, in the silent waiting rooms, in the divided elder meetings, and in the quiet of our studies. His hand is upon us and with us, governing and guiding each moment.

One wonders if the genius of the book of Esther is that it portrays life how it so often feels. The name of God is entirely absent from this small book about God’s exiled people. His chosen people face persecution and difficult decisions, and yet God remains silent. He does not appear in a bush nor part any waters. And yet, there seems to be a calm assurance that God was in fact there, his hand, in its gentle sovereignty, orchestrating each event.

In the same way, in our lives and ministries, we can’t often see or feel the sovereignty of God; we spend much of our ministries seemingly praying into silence. But we must rely on what we know to be true—that God is there, silently and sovereignly bringing all that he wills to pass. He is there delighting in us and our feeble, kingdom-driven efforts.

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