“I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of God then dwell in the tents of wickedness.
Psalm 84:10
For many pastors, Monday morning rolls around (or rolls over you) and you find yourself questioning whether or not you have been “successful”. After preaching to a full congregation, you’re now vacuuming an empty hallway and sweeping your office floor and ministry feels more like being lost in the woods than storming the castle gates.
For every pastor, for every leader, there comes a moment where we need to remember where our contentment lies. Isaiah was called to preach to a people even though he knew their heart would only be hardened as a result (Isaiah 6:8-10). And Joshua was called to lead a people even though he knew that one day they would rebel and suffer for it (Deuteronomy 31:14-23).
For such leaders, what is their motivation? Where is their contentment at the end of a long “fruitless” day of ministry? Is it not in the God who called them and in their obedience to His will? Is it not in His presence which is better than life, more than ministry, and greater than success or failure?
Would not the absence of His presence be worse than our greatest defeats and make our greatest victories pointless?
Where does our contentment rest: in Christ or in our performance? If we are to lead a people we must first and always find our contentment in Christ and His presence. We must be so satisfied with His presence that to be a doorkeeper in His house would be immeasurably better than a thousand kingdoms without Him.
Leadership begins at the gates of the presence of God in worship. It continues in the passionate pursuit of Jesus Christ and His presence. And it ends in eternal joy in the eternal presence of God.
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