Day 33 of the 40 Days of Purpose

“How Real Servants Act”

It has been my custom in ministry for many years to work on my “to-do-list” for the week on Sunday night. Generally on Sunday I find out about a number of things that need to be done and I am usually pretty keyed up at the end of the day on Sunday and can’t go to sleep until I have made a list of things I need to start working on for the next week and pray about them. Usually when I finish, every day has several activities and tasks that need to be performed and people that need to be met or visited. One of the interesting things about this list and schedule, it always changes before the week is over. The fact that my schedule would get changed was the source of great frustration in my earlier years of ministry. Then I realized that Christ’s ministry moved from one interruption to another, I asked, “Why should I think my ministry should be different?” This is not to say that I never get frustrated at being interrupted, but I have a much better attitude about it now than I had earlier in my ministry. I have a big coffee mug on my desk in which I keep markers that has these words in bold print, “Please bother me, I’m trying to study.” And several seem to miss the sarcasm and apparently take it as an invitation. There are times when I am interrupted that I have to say, “I’m sorry I really need to get this done right now, can we schedule an appointment to meet?” But more often I find my schedule that was so carefully planned on Sunday night is rearranged around unexpected hospital visits, counseling appointments, emergency meetings, Bible study opportunities, and various crises within the congregation. Often I get to the end of the week and there are a number of items on my to-do-list still not marked off, but there are added things that I know were more important in service for the eternal good. Praise God for trusting me with the ministry of interruptions.