Inevitably if you’ve been around ministry to people long enough you are bound to run into a situation where someone “let’s you down.”  As I put the sentence on the page I realize that some may think it quite cynical, but I realize it is awfully realistic.  This is a hard thing for those of us who minister “relationally,” as we say in CBMC.

God is not at all surprised about the reality.  He tells us in His Word that “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man” (Psalm 118:8).  Isaiah put it this way, “Stop regarding man, whose breath of life is in his nostrils; for why should he be esteemed?”  (Isa. 2:22).

Now, to a certain degree we need to put trust in men who demonstrate through their fruit that they are in fact focused on God and His righteousness, but we should never shift our focus for hope in the slightest way off God and onto any man!  Many of the great “heroes” of the Bible failed spectacularly: Moses, Samson, David, and Peter, to name a few.  

When a man fails, it should only reinforce our focus on God and His loving-kindness.  He is to be the focus of our lives, and as pointed out by many writers lately, this life is not about us, but rather all about Him.  When a man fails us (and he will), our discouragement and disillusionment will be lessened as we focus on a totally trustworthy Heavenly Father, who is anxious to use the failure to draw us and the one who has failed closer to Himself. 

Focusing on God’s loving-kindness helps us handle failure, both our’s and a friend’s, redemptively.  He is our Redeemer.  By relying on Him, we can treat ourselves and others with the type of love that is not resentful but hopes and endures all things (1 Corinthians 13:6-7).

You won’t be around a ministry for too long before you will treasure the intimate walk we can experience with our God as we learn to trust in Him in these times.  Isaiah again tells us to "trust in the LORD forever, for in GOD the LORD, we have an everlasting Rock” (Isa 26:4) Our Rock!  Now that is a great word picture I think we can all appreciate.  Be encouraged.  Even in the midst of man’s failure, God will be our Rock!

(Photo of Zion National Park by Wolfgang Staudt/Flickr)