Stretched and Spent

Counting the cost is not a foreign concept for people in ministry. Many of us have probably heard Luke 14:28-33 more than once. No one goes to war, builds a city, or plants a field without first counting the cost. So, as good ministers, we count the cost before heading into a ministry. We estimate what we believe the expenses will be—spiritually, emotionally, physically, financially—because we want to be good stewards of what God has given us. Then, we tally it all up and proclaim to our supporters, our sending agencies, our friends, or family, that we are ready! We know what it will cost, and we are willing to go and fulfill our calling.

From there, we begin our ministry and the expenses begin adding up: sickness, discouragement, frustration. Before long, we find that the expenses start to outweigh the estimated costs. I counted the “sickness cost” and figured I might get malaria or dengue fever, but my child getting life threatening cerebral malaria and having to be life-flighted out of the country, was not part of that plan!

I counted the “financial cost” but then the dollar dropped in value and the money just isn’t stretching far enough.

I counted the “culture shock cost” but having someone break into my house and hold me at knife point, was not included.

I counted the “discouragement cost” but I didn’t take into account that I would end up spending five years in national language and culture study; I thought things would go faster.

I counted the “relational cost” but I never expected to have coworkers that could drain that account within the first year… and on and on it goes.

We are called to count the cost. God desires that we be wise stewards and think through the calling He has for our lives. Yet sometimes, we in our Western mindset, become so focused on the primary cost that we forget that He gives us an added “draft account” that allows us to absorb the extra expenses that come our way. Yes, we will overspend, and we may even become spent, but we have access to this draft account of His grace and strength in times of weakness (2 Cor. 12:9) to cover the added expense.

That is what Paul did and why he could say, “I will very gladly spend for you everything I have and expend myself as well” (2 Cor. 12:15 NIV) because he knew that even when his personal budget was drained, God’s grace-filled “draft account” would always be sufficient.

When our ministry can begin to be driven not by our “cost analysis” but by the unlimited expense account from on high, then suddenly the goals set before us become attainable, not because enough has been budgeted but because He is enough. God has always designed life and ministry to be beyond us. They will always demand more time, emotional energy, money, physical strength, and mental stability than we have access to, but the question we must ask ourselves is whether we are willing to spend and be spent. It is a frightening place for those of us who love the black and white, the well-laid plans, the strategies and budgets, but until we are willing to spend and be spent, our ministry will always lack the true fulfillment that God desires it to have.

Know the costs, be wise, be realistic, don’t fool yourself into thinking it will be “easy,” but at the same time, be ready to be stretched and spent beyond what you expect. True, it will most likely cost more and take longer than you imagined, but He will always be there with the added draft account of His grace and strength to see you through.

RELATED RESOURCES

• Serving in Ministry