Strength in Isolation
God allows all of us at certain points in our lives the opportunity to become isolated. Removed from friends, family, and people in order to re-center our focus and to prepare us for our next level in life. Sometimes we are sent out of our comfort zones to far out places that we would never choose to go ourselves. In doing this we are forced to fully lean on our faith to provide us with comfort in knowing that God wouldn’t remove us without providing all of the necessary tools and resources to accomplish his will. God defines our strength in what seems to be isolation to become better connected.
This circumstance does not only rein true in our personal lives but also in our lives as employees and workers of small non profits/churches. Often times smaller ministries are opened in the heart beat of a section of a city where there is the most need. Staffed usually by a few, where sometimes it seems like you personally pour more into your organization than the community or local government in the area you’re serving. Standing on the biblical principle that “to whom much is given much is required” you push forward and continue to work waiting on that next level of growth.
Have More Impact
How can you become more effective and have a greater impact when it seems like you’re being overlooked by the bigger more well-known organizations. You know the ones that are always headlining the news especially during the holiday season with their major giving campaigns. Knowing that you’re all trying to make a difference you don’t harness ill-mannered feeling towards them but you get frustrated at your lack of support. It’s moments like this where you have to realize that you are being refined. You might not share in the magnitude of the more well-known organization but it makes the merit of your purpose and level of accomplishments mean no less. At one time those mega charities started in a small office setting or was once staffed by just a few individuals like yours is now. It was during those times that they focused on identifying what niche of service they could offer in their location.
11 For I know the plans I have for you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Jeremiah 29:11.
This means that no matter how small God starts us out on our Journey he knows our potential and willingness enough that he has already set the standard for our completion. He already knows our expected end. Every local non-profit that is formed isn’t supposed to reach the structure and size of all mega charities. Think about it. . How effective would we be as a serving body if our goal was to be the biggest ministry and to serve more people than every other. We would lose our God given focus and then warrant a spirit of competition instead of a spirit of compassion (1 Corinthians 12:12-14) . It’s similar to the entrepreneur mentality. Opening your own business to address more niche or localized needs creates diversity and promotes growth.
It’s our duty to cater to entire body of Christ. We have to realize that if we focus on our niche or specialized field of service that we fill in the gaps that the mega charities might not have the ability to focus on. One might say it’s the small local non-profit’s focus to be more micro serving geared while working on the unified macro goal of helps.
Once we realize our part we become less concerned with what the major charities have that we don’t and realize now that we’re serving together in unity. We share in passion and drive and we’re both here to serve together in different playing fields to accomplish the same goal. Isolation is about finding your strength to become the best you can be. Once you know your own merit and limitations you now know what you can offer and what you can request in order to become more connected to your purpose.
