Certainty in Uncertainty

Lots of things in life are uncertain.Ministry can sometimes feel that way, that is for sure. Like, for example, in our church, we don't have a building and honestly, it's hard to exactly know when we will ever be able to get one. And there's some instability in that. At least, it feels that way to me and I can complain about it, mostly to myself and to God.I want to just to get to the point where we have a facility, and I can just know, that whoever comes after me, whenever they come after me, they will have a place to meet and worship and serve God. Sometimes, I can find myself even thinking, "if only we were able to have a building of our own," and while that is not always a wrong desire, sometimes, it is evidence I am not thinking completely straight about the nature of gospel ministry.That became more obvious to me as I spent some time this week reading 2 Corinthians and looking at the way Paul described his ministry. To help me remember, I jotted down a number of the different descriptions of what his ministry was like.He describes his experience as,Full of afflictionSharing abundantly in Christ's sufferingsBeing utterly burdened beyond our strengthHaving the sentence of death on himselfFacing deadly perilPainfulWriting out of much affliction and anguish of heart with many tearsAfflicted in every wayPerplexedStruck downAlways carrying in the body the death of JesusAlways being given over to death for Jesus' sakeDeath being at work in himWasting awayGroaningBeing burdenedBy great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hungerTreated as impostorsTreated as dyingPunishedSorrowfulPoorAs having nothingWe were afflicted at every turnFightings without and fears withinDowncastHis bodily presence was weakMalignedAfraid that his work with the Corinthians was going to go the wrong wayConsidered unskilled in speaking by someFar greater labors, far more imprisonments, countless beatings, often near deathFive times received thirty nine lashesThree times beaten with rodsOnce stonedThree times shipwreckedNight and a day adrift at seaIn frequent journeysDanger from robbersDanger from his own peopleDanger from GentilesDangers in the cityDangers in the wildernessDanger at seaDanger from false brothersIn toilIn hardshipThrough many sleepless nightsIn hunger and thirstOften without foodIn cold and exposureAnxious for churches dailyBeing given a thorn in the flesh, described as a messenger of Satan to harass himMinistering in the middle of weaknesses, insults, persecutions and calamitiesFearful of being ashamed by the Corinthians when he visitsIf you are still reading at this point, there's one thing that must have become clear reading all of that, and that is that many of the circumstances of Paul's life, were very uncertain. Not having a church building wouldn't even make his list. What's more, it makes me wonder if having the goal of getting to the point where everything feels stable and sure when it comes to ministry, at least in this life, might just be missing the point. If God grants stability, certainty, great, but that kind of certainty certainly doesn't define success, otherwise Paul would have been in trouble.A better goal of course, is faithfulness.Am I doing what God has called me to do?If so, while one might feel uncertain about the circumstances surrounding their ministry, they should feel very certain the ministry they have been given is a privilege, a reason for joy, and a demonstration of God's mercy, regardless of whether the circumstances are easy or not.