Rural Brothers, Do Not Lose Heart
During my Freshman football year, a few of us had a ritual before every game. If you’ve played sports, you know how superstitious athletes can be. Our ritual was to watch the movie 300 before every game.
The Persians seek to take over all of Greece, and many bow their knee to this great assembled army, but King Leonidas leads 300 of Sparta's finest soldiers to resist bowing to the knee to this self-proclaimed god-king Xerxes. The Spartans are up for the challenge, but they can see this sizable Persian army behind him with ships of more soldiers. Instead of bowing his knee and giving in to Xerxes’s demands, one of the Spartan soldiers says, “Tell your Xerxes that he faces free men here, not slaves.”
Despite the overwhelming number of adversaries and the small number of Spartans, they took confidence in being “free men.” Despite the overwhelming task in front of you, rural pastors, do not shrink back in fear. God has not given us the Spirit of fear—you are “free men.” Your freedom isn’t in your work but in the work of another. Our King took on flesh and lived a perfect life. He shed his blood and died but rose again to set the captive free, and if the “Son sets you free, you are free indeed” (John 8:36). Brothers, we are not slaves, but we are free to fight, knowing the victory has already been won.
Free to Fight Self-Righteousness
One of the greatest temptations for a Christian living in the rural Bible belt is self-righteousness. Many will look around at cultural Christianity, throw up their nose, and think, “These people are beneath me.” This breeds passive aggression and a cynical attitude. But our great, redeeming King looked at his people who praised him with their lips while their hearts were far from him and wept for them.
May we not be like the older brother who refused to come in and rejoice with his prodigal brother, or the Pharisee who prayed aloud, thanking the Lord he was not like the “other” sinners. This self-righteous behavior is not new, and it tempts Christians into thinking we’ve got it all together when, in reality, we’re deeply in need of a heart change. May we be Christians and pastors who take the approach of Paul and view ourselves as the “chief of sinners” who were lavished with mercy and grace. God has the power and desire to save the false religious person, just as those with no frame of belief at all.
Free to Fight Self-Pity
Ministry can be difficult no matter where you are. But, it seems particularly hard in a place where everyone thinks they have a “penthouse in the sky" but show zero marks of being a Christian. It grieves me, and as a pastor, I often grow weary—which can quickly turn into self-pity. Satan begins whispering lies like, “You are the only one who cares; God does not care, and this is a waste of your time.” During these times, I am reminded of Elijah in 1 Kings 19. Elijah saw God move mightily when he rained down fire and consumed the wet sacrifice, defeating the worshipers of Baal. Elijah is so confident in God that he mocks the prophets of Baal. But despite this, Jezebel breathes a few words of threat, and Elijah runs for his life. He finds himself in despair and self-pity. Here are three ways God showed tremendous grace towards Elijah in 1 Kings 19:
He let Elijah sleep and not once, but twice, sent an angel to feed him.
It’s usually in the most challenging moments of our life when we get a fuller glimpse of the glory of God (other biblical examples include Moses, Daniel, Stephen, and John the Baptist).
God reminds Elijah he is not the only one contending for the Lord; God had reserved 7,000 people who have not bowed the knee to Baal.
We must never forget that the Lord is working, even when we can not see it. His perfect plan will never be thwarted.
Free to Fight Fear of Man
In small towns, if you offend one person, you may as well have offended 30. This makes ministry in small towns particularly difficult, considering most churches are 75 people or less. With all this pressure, it’s easy to fall into the trap of trying to please man above God, especially if you desire to keep your job. Martin Luther combated the temptation of man-pleasing with a Latin phrase, Coram Deo, which means before the face of God. Christians, especially pastors, should live knowing we do so before the eyes of God.
Paul says it this way in 2 Timothy 2:4, “No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.” Brothers, we’re called to a holy calling, so if you please your church but do not please God, you’ve failed. Not only do we live before the face of God now, but one day, we will stand before him. Then it won’t matter what your budget was, how many members you had, or how many people spoke well of you. The only thing that will matter is hearing, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” This God-centered approach to leadership is for the good of your people, even if they can not see it.
Keep Your Eyes on the Prize
Often, we let our circumstances cloud the fundamental goal of our hearts—to be satisfied in Christ. I’ll never forget the well-known motto of John Piper, "God is most glorified in me when I am most satisfied in Him.” This rocked my heart when I first read it because I realized I was set free from my depravity and could find satisfaction in God alone. This notion is rooted in Scripture, too.
Hebrews 12:2 reads, “Looking to Jesus, the founder, and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne.” John Owen, an English theologian, spent most of his life writing on the person and work of Christ. He continually looked toward him and found satisfaction—keeping his eyes on the true prize. You cannot run your race well with your eyes off Christ and on your circumstances.
We are free in Christ and not slaves to sin. Look to Christ, the founder and perfecter of our faith. While on earth, he had immense joy amid all the hardship because he knew what was on the other end—a redeemed people for himself. Brothers, do not lose heart and keep your eyes fixed on Christ, your true prize and source of satisfaction.