Can the devil get to you? Is there a crack in the doorway of your ministry?
All too often in the midst of all that seems quite peaceful, the devil is seeking whom he may devour. He is prowling about looking for a foothold into the lives of the children of God. He's subtle. He is not above targeting the minister or the minister's wife--through health, finances, energy, and emotions. One of the greatest places he finds vulnerability is in the busyness of them both. They are so involved in counseling, teaching, visiting, and leading that they make no time for one another. They are tired, and have not spent enough time with God; they depend upon their own strength, wisdom and knowledge. They think because they are following God and doing what He has called them to do--using the gifts He has given--that they are safe from the assaults of darkness and powers of evil. They are not.
A minister pushes himself and sees his home as a sanctuary--free of problems when he comes home; he protects his spouse from the pressures of his ministry. His wife pushes herself and feels inadequate if she doesn't provide that haven of rest and freedom from added difficulties. She handles the household herself. Neither really share their burdens with the other. They spend less and less time with each other in prayer for the other's specific needs. Each ministers alone, all the while thinking they are ministering together. They make no time to enjoy one another, to laugh, to walk hand in hand, to sit and watch the sunsets, to read a book and share ideas and thoughts. Neglect settles in.
When we let neglect to seep into the foundation of our lives, we can fall prey to all kinds of assaults from Satan. Pride gives way to ego and ego allows other things and other people to come in and build us up. Another's innocent touch, a look, a comment in a moment of weakness. When we are not receiving from our spouses that which is intended for a marriage relationship, it makes us vulnerable for Satan to bring in someone else to feed the hungering ego. When that occurs, the faithful man or woman is susceptible to the wiles and temptations of Satan. And when desire gives way to action, sin is born. Pleasure for a season brings destruction for years to come. Some actions can be forgiven but the consequences of those actions may last a lifetime.
It is critical that ministers make time for family--for wives, for children. In order for peace to prevail in the house of God, peace needs to rest in the house of the shepherd. This does not happen by osmosis. It takes as much concentrated effort to care for one another as it does to prepare a lesson or sermon. There needs to be time set aside that no one interrupts unless it is an emergency. A wife needs to know her husband cares as much about her problems as he does about a church member's. A minister's child needs to know dad cares as much about their life as they do about the deacon's child or the child without a parent. Are you vulnerable? Do you know someone who is? Do you have suggestions for those who might find themselves in a situation of vulnerability?
"May peace be within your walls and prosperity within your palaces! For my brethren and companions' sake, I will now say, Peace be within you! For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek, inquire for, and require your good." Psalm 122:7-9.
