This last week here at Faith we hosted the National Association of Nouthetic Counselors annual conference. This meant the opportunity to have over 1200 people on our campus that are passionate about helping the hurting with Bible-based counsel. Part of the internship program that I am privileged to be a part of allows for us to get some practical training with hands-on work. This being said we were asked to be in charge of the facilities set-up, changes and tear downs for the conference.
Starting last Saturday afternoon we began an excursion that would require us to work 60 hours in the next five days. Including tearing down and restoring all the rooms to their school setup in 3 hours on Wednesday. Needless to say we functioned on ibuprofen and coffee as we worked hard. To make matters even more interesting we had our Greek midterm on Thursday.
It was interesting to say the least to see how my outlook on the event greatly affected my effectiveness. Here are 4 main points I came to realize over the last week.
Pray for God to Change Your Focus
On Monday morning as I began to unlock all the facilities I was thinking to myself here goes an incredibly long week with nothing productive getting done. I watched with interest as people began to poor in. I thought about how they were going to destroy the work I had spent so much time trying to make perfect. My focus was entirely on myself and the poor me syndrome was setting in.
At lunch time on Monday a call went out on the radios for the conference directors that a man was having heart attack like symptoms and kept fading in and out of consciousness. I rushed over to the area where things were happening to help open doors for the EMTs and to keep the crowds back. As the next 30 minutes unfolded I found myself having the opportunity to personally minister to man's wife. On my drive back from the hospital I could think of nothing else but how awesome God was to allow me to minister to this family.
When your focus starts to turn negative put your attention on the reason you are there. God obviously has a plan for you to be there. Nothing of value comes without a sacrifice of some sort. You may be making a sacrifice of your time, strength and study time, but that all pales in comparison to the sacrifice God made for you when you were undeserving.
Maximize Your Time
So a Greek midterm is a pretty big deal (especially with my history in Greek) and I needed some serious study time for it. Working 16 hours a day leaves no time for anything but sleeping. I learned this week that if you add up all the time that you are not physically doing something it can equal a pretty nice study session. I studied my flashcards and read through my books all when I thought I would not have time. There are a lot of holes in our time that we call our busy time. Learning how to maximize these times will allow us to be more effective.
Look at your schedule and find the natural holes that fall between your obligations and then use them for something productive.
Take Joy in the Good Moments
In the middle of all the craziness find the good moments and focus on them. This may be an opportunity to see your ministry affect someone else personally. Or it may be a totally unrelated incident that reminds you of the goodness of God. On Tuesday I slipped away from the conference to take my wife to the doctor. As I sat there and listened to the heartbeat of my precious little baby coming from inside of precious wife, I could not think of anything but how unworthy I am to have God bless me like this. I love my wife and I love my baby but most of all I love that God has brought them into my life to help me in ministry. After that doctor's appointment I could have worked around the clock for a month straight and never be discouraged.
Remember even the worse things that can happen in your life are better than what you truly deserve (eternal separation from God in hell).
Remember Your Role Is Important in God's Eyes
Whatever your hands find to do, do it heartily as unto the Lord and not unto man. Even the mundane task of moving tables and chairs can impact the eternal future of other souls. By making sure that the tables and chairs were setup I allowed there to be an opportunity for 1200 people to go out and minister to others. If every one of them will go out and impact just 5 more people that is a total of 6000 people who will be helped. In no other capacity could I reach 6000 people in just 3 days.
Do it all for God's glory.
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