Ministry is tough.

Some days we celebrate beautiful moments of triumph. Some days, it looks like every life we’ve invested in is marked for disaster.

It was on one of those particularly chaotic days recently that I let my soul sigh in dismay. What is the point of it all? Why strive to prompt change in lives that are held by such a death-grip of evil?

Then I heard this quiet voice, the only whisper that ever grabs the attention of my heart:

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
whose confidence is in him.
  He will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit.”  Jeremiah 17:7

When chaos ensues and people disappoint us, we cling with all our might to the One who saves. Like firmly planted oaks we stand, our branches stretched out to provide shadows of hope to the broken, our roots reaching deep into the river of living water. Seeds of love planted will spring up as strong trees sown in faith, in their time.

Don’t give up, friends. Be encouraged. Your work is not in vain.