Most people quit just before the miracle happens…

I have a concern. It will undo us. It’s about how long people stay involved in ministry with children, young people and families. Volunteers stay for twelve to 24 months, those we pay who do it as a job do three to five years. It’s not long enough. It’s not supposed to be a job, it’s a vocation; dare I say, it’s a calling! And we tend to lose our volunteers and great leaders when things go wrong.

So I wanted to dedicate a few words on sticking in there. Of getting back up. Because I have an absolute belief that most people give up just before the miracle happens. But let me show it to you through the life of King David – before he was king. Let me take you to Ziklag!

David had been journeying long and hard. He had led his men valiantly. He had lived with incredible standards of integrity and righteous. He had always done the right thing. Yet he had just returned from a journey, hoping to come back to his wife and children, hoping for a time of rest and relaxation before he would continue on. Then suddenly as he rode into camp he saw smoke billowing high into the air. It was his camp. Ziklag was on fire. His possessions were in flames. As he came closer the enormity of the situation hit him. Not only were all his possessions on fire, his wife and children and everything he and his men owned were gone.