Just Give Up

Should we just give up?  It would be a lot easier if we did sometimes.  Right?  There are so many times in ministry when we might feel this way.  Whether it is stepping away from a ministry or getting rid of part of a ministry.  In ministry, we are after all on the front lines for the battle for souls so it only makes sense that we would feel this way from time to time.  Does that mean we should just give up or will we have to push through even if we don’t know what the outcome will be?
I am sort of in that situation right now.  A few months ago I was asked to go through a Catechism Course for catechists.  I didn’t know anybody who had done it before so I wasn’t sure what to expect.  Was I going to get anything out of it?  Would it be a waste of time?  Would it take away from other projects within my ministry?  I decided to put my full effort towards it even with the uncertainty.  It turns out that the course did have value to me.  I learned some new things and the course also had a positive influence on my prayer life.  That was a surprise; I sure wasn’t expecting it to effect me in my prayer. 
Now I know what you’re thinking, this situation worked out for you so now I should go out and do the same thing.  Only the story isn’t over.  There is a certification that one can receive upon completion of the course.  You have to send in a take home test to be graded.  So I sent it in excited that this would be something that I could put on my resume.  A few weeks later it came back in the mail with a note saying, “We no longer certify through this course.”  It was a little upsetting that all that work had been put in and now there was no recognition to show for it.  I found out that there was a revised edition of the course that was now used.  I would have to complete it in order to be recognized.
So here I am at another moment where I have to choose if I should just give up.  I am not at the point where I can tell you whether this time the outcome will be good or not.  I can tell you though that like last time, I will be pushing forward with faith that this time even more good will come out of the course.  It says in Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know well the plans I have says the Lord, plans for your welfare, not for woe! Plans to give you a future full of hope.”  Maybe this was God’s plan for me all along.  I will be waiting with joyful hope to find out.  What’s your current setback in ministry?  Will you push through to see God’s greater plan?
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