Your Affirmation Comes From God

What do you do when a student tells you they feel the call to student ministry? Whenever I have a student explain to me that they feel called to ministry, I always encourage them to pursue their calling now, and not to wait. I also add another suggestion: Confirm the calling as best you can. Make sure you continue to pray and listen to God. The call to ministry can seem romantic in the eyes of our students. But we all know that the call to vocational ministry is full of high highs, and low lows.

I love what I get to do, and I know you do too. It's a privilege beyond words. But the work of the youth minister or the adult volunteer is one that doesn't usually receive a ton of positive reinforcement, at least not here on Earth.

Dry spells come with the territory, don't they? When you go through those dry spells where you aren’t getting a lot of encouragement from your students, or parents, or church leadership, just remember the words of Paul in 1 Thessalonians 2:4:

"On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts."--1 Thessalonians 2:4

Paul says that we do what we do to please God. It is the Holy Spirit that examines our hearts. What pleases God is that we are motivated to serve Him by our love for Him.

You may be in a situation where you don't get much affirmation for your work with teenagers, but there is an ongoing, daily affirmation of the Spirit. And there is a pretty awesome moment of affirmation coming.

BE ENCOURAGED.

I hope that today you would know how valuable you are to God and to the Kingdom. Know that even if it isn't voiced, you are making an impact on so many. And God sees your faithfulness. Don't lose site of the encouragement that comes from Him.