Among Wolves
"Ministry is harder than I thought."
I have heard this said a thousand different ways over the past eight years. Most of the time, it has been communicated from my mouth or spoken in the recesses of my own heart. People we share the gospel with commit suicide. Disciples we invest in punt the faith. Fraternities kick us out of their chapter. Athletes talk about us behind our backs. We lose a $200/month supporter. We take a trip overseas to a different culture to leads to high financial risk, demonic persecution, and physical trials. Most of the seasons we go through in ministry seem like sowing seasons.
I recently spoke with a seasoned laborer who has made a transition in ministry after 15 years overseas. I was incredibly challenged by his candor; he essentially said, "Ministry is still hard." We are tempted at the end of each year to throw in the towel. There is a job offer lingering around the corner, we think. The greener grass on the other side looks like a normalized lifestyle, a more consistent schedule, some financial stability, or at least some sanity. Things seem less than we anticipated they’d be, and, often, our greatest doubts don't come from external fruit (or lack thereof) but from internal turmoil.
Is this you?
Do you feel as though you have been put in a ministry situation that is harder than you anticipated? Do you feel unprepared? Overwhelmed? Unfit? Incompetent? Well, that is likely because you are a "lamb among wolves." In Luke 10, Jesus sends his disciples into the harvest and says, "The harvest is plentiful, the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs amid wolves." Wait, what? First of all, the harvest is plentiful, and the laborers are few; meaning we are outnumbered. Beyond that, we are lambs, and the harvest field is filled with wolves meaning we are vulnerable, to say the least. More like helpless prey waiting to be devoured.
Imagine this scene that Jesus paints for these would-be missionaries. I am sending you out into dangerous territory, and you are not only a few, but you are also weak, fragile, ignorant, and defenseless.
It is not that Christ is bringing the wolves into the sheepfold. It is that he is letting loose the lambs into the wild, into the territory of the wolves, their natural predators. Ferocious, blood-thirsty, killer wolves. These wolves don't look to merely harm; they look to devour.
Although these “wolves” at times dress in friendly, sheep-like costumes, they intend to harm us. These wolves come to us in various disguises, like financial strain, relational tension, division within the body, anxiety, depression, or in the form of close friends abandoning the faith. Some of these trials are subtle and common, perhaps even constant. Others are devastating and life-altering... think of being diagnosed with a terminal illness or watching a loved one die.
Is God cruel to send us, mere sheep, out among wolves? Do we have a chance among wolves? Is there any hope among wolves? How can we survive, let alone bear fruit among wolves?
Hope & encouragement for those among wolves:
The Lord of the Harvest is with us among wolves.
When you are a sheep among wolves in the harvest, it can be overwhelming, tiring, and scary. There are so many things outside of our control among wolves. Our safety, our comfort, our future, our very lives! Among wolves we feeble sheep often feel stretched beyond our capacity, we feel hurt beyond our ability to repair, and we feel powerless against the problems and at a loss for what to do. In the harvest among wolves, it can be disorienting, disillusioning, and hopelessly discouraging.
Jeff was a freshman starter on the football team. I had a handful of conversations with him about Jesus, and Jeff was one of the most intelligent and likable people I had ministered to. Jeff and I became real friends. I admired his physical skill, his incredible intellect, and his influence among his friends. At 18 years old, he had already planned on leaving his undergraduate early to enroll in an expedited dental program that would give him a degree three years after graduating from his undergraduate. He was an incredibly popular, smart, and talented young man. While walking to class one day, Jeff witnessed a student jump from a fourth-story building on campus to his death. Jeff was shaken deeply by the experience, utterly devastated and disoriented. He didn't understand why this guy would take his own life and why he was there at that moment it all happened. I sat with Jeff, sad and confused with him. I pointed Him to the hope that is in Jesus and the fulfillment and love and acceptance that is in Jesus. Just months later, I got the most painful phone call I've ever received. Jeff had taken his own life. He was hurting deep within. Underneath his social, academic, and athletic success was a guy who was experiencing pain so intense that it led him to this point. I was heartbroken beyond explanation. I was devastated and so confused. I was sad and hopeless. Especially because in all of my conversations with Jeff, it didn't seem to me that he had come to know the love and forgiveness of Jesus. I considered Jeff's eternity. I considered how I might have done more. I considered if I had said what I should have or if I should have been more present in Jeff's life. I felt overwhelmed. In time, my pain dissipated and my trust in God revived. I couldn't understand why Jeff took his life and how it was okay that God would allow that. I remember doubting God's character and questioning Him. In our Luke 10 passage, Jesus exhorts us to pray. He exhorts us to pray to "The Lord of the Harvest." Among wolves, things are hard to understand. Tough things happen that we didn't want to happen, and we don't comprehend why. Things feel out of our control, and we feel hopeless. There are ministry needs that present themselves that seem insurmountable and impossible to meet ourselves. But amidst the wolves, we have a Lord of the Harvest. He calls us in these moments to come to Him in prayer. He bids us when we are tired, confused, powerless, and overwhelmed. He reigns over the Harvest. He rules the Harvest. He is entirely sovereign over all that goes on in the Harvest. And because He is the Lord of the Harvest, we must come to him in prayer. Among wolves, we will not survive without praying to the Lord of the Harvest. We will be discouraged; we must pray. We will be confused; we must pray. We will be overwhelmed; we must pray. We will be devastated; we must pray. And when we pray among wolves we will be casting our burdens on the sovereign and wise Lord of the Harvest, who is not far off but right there with us. The Good Shepherd stays with His sheep, especially when they are among wolves.
The Good Shepherd is with us among wolves.
A couple I know lives in a pretty rough neighborhood. They had a homicide take place just behind their house (caught on the neighborhood surveillance camera). There are scary nights and weird people who traffic the streets surrounding them. I spoke with them after their kids’ bikes got stolen, and my friend said something that has forever challenged me. She said, "We want to be a light in the darkness until the darkness spills into our light." In other words, we will follow the Good Shepherd so long as He keeps us safe. So long as hard things don't happen to us. So long as tragedy stays far away. So long as it will not cost us too much. We will be sheep so long as the wolves are tame.
Friends, the reality is that we have a Good Shepherd that we can follow and trust among wolves. I've been reading in Ezekiel 34 where Israel's shepherds failed them. These shepherds were selfish, careless, ruthless "shepherds that were more like predators than overseers or caregivers. They didn't shepherd the people, they left them alone to end up as food for the wolves around them. They did not seek out the straying sheep, bind up the wounded sheep, lead the wandering sheep, or comfort the hurting sheep. They were nowhere to be found. They were all too self-consumed to care for their flock. With this in view, God promises "Behold, I, I, will search for my sheep and will seek them out. (Ez. 34:11). "I will rescue them," "I will bring them out," and "I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture, they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God." (Ez. 34:15) In the New Testament, these promises show up in even higher definition. We learn that our Shepherd is the "Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep." Unlike the unfaithful shepherds of Israel, we have a Good Shepherd who binds up our wounds and heals us. We have a Good Shepherd who will never leave us nor forsake us but is always with us in the harvest. Our Shepherd will provide for us and will protect us among wolves. Our Shepherd will fight for us among wolves. Our Shepherd is so committed to us as His sheep that He even laid down his own life for us! And because he is our Good Shepherd, we must follow him! He will not only provide, but also protect, and lead us, He will fight to the very death for our sake. And He already has! Jesus is our Good Shepherd who has laid down His life so that even us who are among wolves, hurting, heartbroken, and discouraged, might have salvation and hope. He is our Savior such that even though we may die in the harvest, we will yet live! He will be with us. He will never leave. He loves us and showed us how much when He gave up His life for us. We must follow Him, trembling, scared, and vulnerable as we are, trusting that when we face wolves, He will be there to protect us, guide us, and bind up our wounds in battle. But even beyond that, we must follow Him trusting that He is taking us to His place. He is Shepherding us to a place where the wolves are no more, where, as Isaiah 11:6 says, the lamb and the wolf will live together in harmony, the leopard will lie down in peace with the goat, and the calf and the young calf and the fattened calf will both be safe with the lion. As our Good Shepherd, Jesus has for us a special destination beyond this harvest. A place where we will lie down in peace and feed on rich pasture. We have a Good Shepherd among wolves and friends, and He is leading us on to a better land. Follow Him!
Each season brings unique trials and challenges. I don't know what your circumstances are, but as sheep among wolves, I'm certain it's challenging. No matter your situation, be encouraged that our Lord is the Lord of the harvest who hears and answers our prayers. Be encouraged that the Good Shepherd is your shepherd who does not leave you alone. Follow Him in faith, trusting in his unfailing love, and hope set on Him to lead you home.