Do you ever wonder if your are making a difference? When we serve in ministry, we pour into the lives of people. We do this because we believe that joining God in His plan to evangelize the world is the best thing we can give our lives to. God has been so good to us…we wholeheartedly have said “yes” to Him. Yet there are times when we get so depleted…and so tired. There are times when after we have given so much, people walk away. We can come to a place of such disappointment that we even wonder “Is all this that I signed up for worth it?” We genuinely love people and have a heart to help and serve and sometimes it seems like it doesn’t really matter. I had a wonderful moment a few days ago when I sat in an arena full of women hearing Shiela Walsh share about how to finish well. She shared her story of her depression, thoughts of suicide and how God miraculously healed her. She shared Philippians 1:12 “Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel.” She encouraged us with these words. “When you find yourself in a difficult place, remember that people are watching you…to see how you are coping. Stand faithful…encouraging, believing. Run in your own lane…do not compare yourself with others. Do not get distracted by what is on your right or left. See what God will do. God is all powerful and all loving. He is worth it. When we see Jesus, it will be worth it all. Heaven has not missed one of your tears…He knows the weight of what you bear… He has carried our grief and our sorrows. To finish well, we need to wake up every morning and say “Yes, Lord” and put on the armor of God. We need to worship…not just in the sunlight but also in the storm. She shared how at the worst of her storm, she felt that there was a “death wish” on her life… handed down from her father who had committed suicide at the age of 33. She had dealt with this for so long, and she had come to a breaking point…This breaking point became her healing when God broke off that death wish…when His love gave her life. She then did something that I will never forget…She asked every woman in the arena who had ever thought of or had tried to commit suicide or cutting to come forward for her to pray for them. I thought perhaps we would see a dozen come forward. My heart stood still as I saw hundreds flood forward for her to pray for them…It was at that moment that I felt the Lord whisper into my heart…”Why keep on going in ministry? It is a matter of life and death. There are so many women that need the good news that I have ordained for you to share. You are a part of a mighty army of women who I am raising up to rescue broken women who have come to the end of their hope. Don’t stop.”

“Dear Lord, Help us to not get so weary in well-doing that we stop believing that You really can change lives and that You want to use us to be part of this plan. Lord, give us ears to hear and eyes to see what is going on in people’s lives and to share Your hope with them. Lord we ask You to strengthen us and help us to finish this race well. We believe You are good and it will be worth it all when we see You.”

Cindy Lyons: Founder of Friends In Ministry Women’s Ministry & Senior Pastor’s Wife at High Street Baptist Church

Perhaps you feel like you’re in a desert today. Perhaps you feel like everything is a struggle. Know that God does not waste your seasons. What feels like a tough time in a dry spot, may be because God is stretching you and growing you. He is grooming you for the next thing He has for you. He is growing you for the next season in your life. Be encouraged today.

You can grow, even in the desert.

Others are looking to you & need to see what God can do in those tough times of life. Perhaps His purpose for you right now is that He needs you to be that flower blooming in the desert, with others who are in this same season. You can have joy knowing that His hand is upon you. He will be your strength. It’s time to grow.

“Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the LORD! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! The Sovereign LORD is my strength!”

Habakkuk 3:17-19 NLT

Judy Henderson: Grace Point Church, Orlando Florida

If you are a woman in ministry, you are a leader. No matter what your title is, you have influence that God has ordained to accomplish His good will through you. We sometimes can underestimate our opportunities because we lose sight of the big picture. Whether you serve full time or as a volunteer, you have a calling. Whatever area of ministry that you serve in, you have influence. When we embrace our callings, and follow God wholeheartedly, God will place a dream and vision in our hearts. When we join God in His plan to reach the world, He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think. God is pleased when we “dream big” and inspire others to come along with us to follow Him. However, there are those times of disappointment and great heartache when the enemy tries to steal our faith. We know God is good, but we “down-size” our dreams…We lose our steam as we go after the vision that we thought God put in our hearts. I pray that today…You will start to believe again…that God is able. That He still has a plan and destiny for your life…that you do have a part to play in His amazing plan. Your most fruitful days are ahead! No matter what you are facing, let us not allow the enemy of our souls to steal the exceeding and abundant things that God is preparing. May we refuse to let the doubts, the trials and the offenses shrink our faith in our great God… May we choose to believe once again…That God can do exceedingly more than we ask or think and that He has invited us to be a part of His great plan!

“Dear Lord, We thank You for saving us and for calling us into Your ministry. We ask that You bring healing and hope to those who have stopped believing that You are able. You are able to strengthen those who are discouraged and those who have lost heart. You are able to to help each of us reach new people with the gospel. You are able to help our churches thrive and grow. You are able to provide financially. You are able to protect our children and lead them in Your plans for them. You are able to protect us from the enemy of our souls. You are able to give us ideas and plans that glorify You and build Your Kingdom. Then you have the power to make them come true. We want to be women of faith that believe You. We want to be women that You can use to make a difference in this world. We want to be women who so believe You that we can tell the next generation of Your mighty acts and power…not from what we have heard… but from what we have seen You do in our lives. LORD, we have heard of your fame; we stand in awe of your deeds, LORD. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.”

Cindy Lyons: Founder of Friends In Ministry Women’s Ministry & Senior Pastor’s Wife at High Street Baptist Church

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Wherever you find yourself in this journey, God has shaped you to serve Him. He knows when you feel unworthy and unqualified…

He knows when you give your all and are rejected…

He understands how working with people can become messy and complicated.

He also knows the many people He intends for you to influence…to help and to be an instrument of healing.

He knows the people that He has planned for you to lead to Him.

He knows the people who will never be the same because you reached out to them.

You are God’ handiwork – even His masterpiece. He has created you in Christ Jesus to do good works which He has been planning for a long time. I pray that you will not give up…That you will not lose heart and that you will embrace this amazing calling that He has for you.

“Dear Lord, please help our friends in ministry to see how You have shaped them to serve You. You have given them spiritual gifts…and I love how each of us are not the same. You have given each of us a heart for certain groups of people. You are so amazing to give each of us abilities. Any ability we have is from you and we pray that we will use it to the fullest for you. Thank you that You use our personalities…and our experiences. You are so good and You invite us to join You to reach the world. We thank you… we love you and we pray that You will encourage each of our friends.”

Cindy Lyons: Founder of Friends In Ministry Women’s Ministry & Senior Pastor’s Wife at High Street Baptist Church

Have you ever watched toddlers play? If you ever watch more than one toddler at a time, this particular scenario is bound to to happen. Let’s call the first toddler Jane and the second toddler Olivia. (If your name happens to be Jane or Olivia, I’m sure you’ve never a part of this kind of scenario.) Jane is playing with a doll. She is having so much fun that Olivia takes notice. Olivia crawls over to Jane, looks at her…and rips the doll out of her hands. If you have ever seen this happen, you know exactly what’s going to happen next. Jane begins to cry. Jane is distraught that Olivia had the power to take her doll. Jane doesn’t know how to move on. Jane is stuck. Jane forgot that there was someone in the room who has watched this whole thing happen. She forgot that there was someone who could come to the rescue. Jane doesn’t know that her peace, her calling and her destiny is not in Olivia’s hands, but is in the hands of that someone who was in the room the whole time.

Just like Jane, we often look to the people around us as if they have the power to steal not just our doll, but our calling, our peace and our destiny.

Have you ever had your ability, position and even motives questioned? It is at these times that we may feel like we can’t go on. We may be tempted to think that in the pit of despair we are alone. Thoughts begin to flood our mind. Thoughts like “I am the only one that have ever been so mistreated or falsely accused.” We want nothing more than to seek revenge and get justice. Take heart. Jesus has been exactly where you have been. He was mistreated, betrayed and even had His motives called into question.

The only way we can make it through the times where the people threaten to steal our peace and our destiny is to pay attention to how Jesus handled it.

If you read through the life of Jesus, you will see how often He was attacked by people. They questioned his authority, his motives and actions. They tried everything to stop him from accomplishing what God had sent him to do. Jesus, never allowed His critics to determine His steps. We need to do the same. Never forget that Jesus never calls us to endure anything He has not endured Himself.

Hebrews 12:2 “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

There are times in our lives where we can feel the sting of peoples words. Just like Jane, we allow these blows to rattle us. These times can tempt us to give up. Remember what Jesus went through and remember that He didn’t throw in the towel. He kept going and finished what He was sent here to do. God has called you and called me to a specific journey and destiny. His vision for our lives is one of peace and victory. If we can learn to lean on the one who calls us, we can trust that He will go before us. Jesus never gave up or allowed His critics to shake Him and the world was never the same.

“Never be driven by your critics, but be led by the Holy Spirit.” -Eddie Lyons

Tiffany Lyons: Director of Communications at Lake Hills Church Austin, Texas