It seems to be human nature to expect things to be easy. We are so programmed that way that when things are hard, we think something is wrong. But like the saying you might have heard from a coach in your past, “No pain, no gain” is a more realistic world view. It’s not that all of life has to be difficult, nor does this discount unexpected, undeserved gifts from God, nor does it negate the joy He promises; it is just that life tends to the hard side.
The Apostle Paul was not at all troubled by this reality. Difficulties did not make him think that something was wrong. Rather, in the work of the ministry he emphasized embracing the difficulties that would come. He wrote his protege Timothy: “All who live godly in Christ will suffer persecution”.
In this message I want to take a look at this reality and what true ministry for Christ is like. We will talk about some of the difficulties of this ministry we have been called to, the reason for the ministry, and we will finish by looking at the power for this ministry. Come dig into Colossians 1 together with us!