KATELYN ROSS|GUEST

Cognitive itch. Existential unease. The antsy-ness of feeling like you need to do something, but can’t figure out what you’re supposed to do is a familiar intrusive visitor in my mind. The Christian life is itchy for those of us who serve in ministry, wrapped up in a tug-of-war between our local community and the larger world. “Am I doing enough for God’s kingdom? Is any of this work making a difference,” I ask myself while I chug my second cup of coffee of the morning. The itchiness feels like some sort of spiritual allergy and somebody moved the holy Benadryl. I have learned over the last fourteen years in ministry, both from the Lord and from people much wiser than I, a few balms for healing this itch before I scar myself that I’d like to offer you in case you too are afflicted.

More often than not, the Lord’s workers are burnt out, overworked, and overtired, and find themselves wondering “What is the next thing I should be doing?” Wouldn’t it be nice if God would let us in on the plan? If only we knew what He wanted us to do we’d obey Him perfectly. I think the Israelites of the Old Testament might prove that theory wrong! While we wait to understand what is next–living in the tension of working too much and never knowing if we’re doing enough–these three actions are supported by Scripture: meditate on the Word and character of God, pray for more than just direction, and obey where you are while you’re there.

Meditate on the Word and Character of God

When our stage of life is changing, when our finances are unsure, when the church is divided, ministry workers often feel an earthquake like shakiness under their feet. Our humanity calls to us to ride the seismic waves with deepening anxiety, but the character of our Lord is firm, never changing and  never wavering; it is solid and earthquake-proof (Heb. 13:8). Psalm 1:2-3 encourages us, “but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in season and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.” There’s never an end to the requests, difficulties, and denials that come to those who are in ministry. People often ask us “How do you do it?” After all, we weren’t created to hear the atrocities we hear and to see the pain we see that we cannot fix. But, when we are not enough, Jesus is everything. We show people Jesus, we tell them about Him, and we meditate on His character. We are not able to take on the sins of the world, but Jesus did (2 Cor. 5:21). Where we are darkness, He is light. Where we are finite; He is from eternity past. Where we die, He defeated death. Meditate on His attributes, search the Trinity, seek understanding and remembrance from the Holy Spirit (John 14:26) and you will find steady ground to stand upon.

Don’t Pray Only for Direction

When we face times of uncertainty, when our lives are in transition, we cry out in prayer. We pray for direction, for clarity, and we pray, “God just tell me what to do!” There are times when He doesn’t answer us with clarity. We persist, yet He doesn’t give us the direction we seek. Our faith waivers. Does He hear me? Is He angry with me? Why isn’t He directing me? Maybe I should just quit and do what I want to, since none of this makes a difference to Him anyway. Oh, fellow ministry friend, I hear you and God more than hears you; He is FOR you. He has never left you and never will forsake you (Heb. 13:5-6). All too often, our prayers can become a kind of to-do list that we hand to God when we can’t accomplish all of our tasks or when we’re not sure what the next step is. But when was the last time we prayed something other than a request? Do we want Jesus Himself and a relationship with Him, or do we just want something from Him?  Matthew 6:33 reminds us, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”  

Do the Next Right Thing

When we’re overwhelmed with decisions, bristling at the phrase “the world is your oyster,” may we find insight from what God has already placed in our lives. Some questions that might lead us to our next step: Where are you right now in your life? Are you a mom of young kids? Are you single and in full time church ministry? Are your kids grown up and you have an empty home for the first time? What are your limitations?  

We don’t live by our limitations, our God is more than capable of working through them, around them, bulldozing over them, erasing them completely, and using them exactly how He wants to. Our limitations make us human and they give us information, like the check engine lights in our cars. Considering our limitations is not ungodly or showing a lack of faith; rather, it is simply understanding the reality that we are created to sleep, eat, and attend to all our not-so-glorious bodily needs. 

What about your talents? What are you even interested in? We’re not meant to be everything to everyone. God created each of us with specific gifts (1 Cor. 12) and He has reasons for not giving us all of them. There’s a difference between spiritual gifts and fruits of the Spirit. All believers are called to exhibit the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), but our spiritual gifts make us only parts of the whole body of Christ.  

All of these questions give us clues to the answer to the mystery question that we have all screamed at some point while looking at the sky with our hands extended: “WHAT DO I DO WITH MY LIFE?!” But it’s not a mystery, is it? God doesn’t hide His will from us. He’s not waiting for us to figure out what He has called us to do then laughing when we fail. No, He has given us the answer already. Micah 6:8 “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” We are to obey Him wherever we are with whatever gifts we have, keeping in mind our humanity and its limitations. We don’t have to take the next ten steps, just the next obedient one.

So, when the restlessness becomes too much to bear and the gnawing sense that you’re not doing enough or that you’ve missed some secret divine memo, remember this: God is not playing a cosmic game of hide and seek with your next step. The ache you feel isn’t necessarily a sign that something’s wrong, but rather that you’re human and awake to the weight of ministry. And yet, in the midst of the questions, the burnout, and the ambiguity, He has not left us without a map or even Himself. Scripture anchors us, prayer shapes us, and obedience in the present moment refines us. So sit with the Word, speak honestly with your Father, and do the next right thing.

Photo by Sergey Konstantinov on Unsplash