grinding it out

I remember a seasoned pastor once telling me: 'When you're working and ministering with people, the natural desire will be to see huge changes and noticeable fruit on a daily basis... like hitting a home run everyday in baseball.  However, a healthy minister must be prepared for the grind.  If you look for the home run everyday, you are setting yourself up to be disappointed.  The best ball players are those who consistently hit singles and doubles.'

Forgive my over-usage of the baseball analogy but I see truth to his words.

The truth is that there are times, days, and seasons where being a minister is a struggle for me.  There are many jobs that can be summed up with a formula: I do this work for this many hours and I will get this result.

People cannot and should not be reduced to a formula.  There are students whom I have had hundreds of conversations with and poured many hours into whom have ultimately decided they want little to do with the faith.  Then, there are others whom I may have even spent less time with that continue to find their roots in Christ.

As I write these words, I am reminded that the calling of the minister is to faithfully seek after Christ in their own life while seeking to love, teach, and pour into those around him/her.  There will be those who choose to resist the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives while there will be those who listen and respond.

And during those times when you struggle to see the highlights of your efforts, take a step back, rest a little, pray, and continue to grind it out...  God sees you and God is using you, even if it may not seem like it.

Can you relate to this at all?  Have you ever felt this way?