I am the glue that holds everything together; without me this ministry would fall apart.  I make sure that everything goes according to plan; that the worship is good, that people are getting plugged in, and that people are excited to come.  I am the center and it is because of me that things go the way they are suppose to.  When something wrong happens, I am the first one to step in and make the change to keep the service from having any disasters.  When there is a good night and people give me compliments, I pretend to point all the credit to God but secretly enjoy all the accolades and know that I nailed it.  I walk away knowing that all my hard work really paid off.

There are many nights that I think to myself, if I ever leave it will fall apart, because of all I do for this ministry.  I am the glue that holds everything together.  A part of me wants to leave just to see the next person fail so that I can know that what I did was important; that I AM important, but part of me would hate to see everything that I have done go down the drain and be a waist of years delegated to my hard work.  If I can just continue to get people to see my importance I will be happy and keep going.

And then it hits, God closes the door to your ministry having to leave everything that you have worked hard to create.  What will happen next?  The emotions start to rise and your thoughts wonder if you really were the glue that held things together.  You question if anything that you really did mattered, or was it all just you looking for that praise?

We have to remember that it isn’t about us!  We are but a vapor and God doesn’t NEED us to do His work.  He can do it Himself or use somebody else to do what we do and execute it twice as effective.  So when we are involved in any type of ministry we have to understand that it really is ALL about God at work in us.  He is the one who opens and closes doors for ministry.  He is the glue that holds everything together and without Him as your center, everything will fall apart.

When we understand that God is in control and allows certain things to happen, we take the focus off the “us centered ministry” and point it back to “Jesus Christ centered ministry”, where it belongs.   It is very easy to hide this from others, but God knows our heart and motives so it isn’t wise to try and it from God.  If you find yourself in this spot, repent and remember that if God isn’t the center of your ministry then what is the point?  It becomes a gospel of you, which really isn’t a gospel at all; that is just bad news!

When Christ is the center you begin to see that you become less and God becomes more, allowing you to not be bitter over people stepping in and doing a great job.  You can love and encourage that person because your perspective changes, seeing them as furthering the kingdom of God instead of getting the credit you have always wanted.  We have to set aside our pride and put God first and then others because that is what God has called us to do.  See the freedom in it and TRUST GOD.

I hope this encourages you to seek out God and to put him as the center of your life and ministry.  May you be able to get excited about denying your flesh and pray for those who are by your side working for the expansion of God’s kingdom.  This can be hard to do if you take your eyes of Jesus, but remember it’s not about you!