Appropriate preparation is essential to maximize our effectiveness in ministry. Jesus did not send out the twelve on the first day of their discipleship; and He did not send them out without detailed, specific instruction. At least five aspects of preparation are needed to ensure victory upon being sent out into the darkness:
1. Equipping
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Training
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Practice
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Confidence
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Availability
We examined Preparation Piece 3: Practice in the last newsletter. Let’s go on now to look at the 4th Preparation Piece in a little more detail.
Preparation Piece 4: Confidence
Many, many people are equipped and well-trained, but are useless in ministry because lack of confidence keeps them bound in fear. They won’t step out for fear of failure or rejection.
*“The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever leans on, trusts in, and puts his confidence in the Lord is safe and set on high.”—Proverbs 29:25 (AMP) *
Many people in Saul’s army were more experienced and more skilled in warfare than David, but none of them stepped out to face the giant Goliath. Why not?
And what led David to step out and face the enemy with full confidence that he would be victorious, even though he was not a soldier in the army and had no armor to protect him?
David had the confidence of success.
He had already experienced other battles with a lion and with a bear and had been victorious (1 Samuel 17:37). As a result of these successful, victorious experiences, he had a different mind-set than everyone else in Saul’s army.
“Moreover David said, ‘The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.’”—1 Samuel 17:37 (NKJV)
While every soldier in the army had fear in his heart and expected only certain defeat if he ventured out to face the enemy, the thought of defeat didn’t even enter David’s mind. Because his previous experience in battle had been successful, it never occurred to him that he might lose, so he did not experience the same fear as the soldiers who were much better equipped and trained.
This principle is important to understand. David was the least qualified of all those on the battlefield! But what set him apart from the others was a history of successful experiences in similar situations. Having a history of successful, victorious experiences freed him from any fear that the outcome of this new challenge might be anything other than victorious and successful.
We must not give up after one or two discouraging ministry experiences. That is an inseparable part of learning and growing in our gifts and callings.
A good leader will do everything possible to ensure that your ministry experiences are successful and encouraging.
The risk factor should be very gradually increased from no risk at first to adventurous, high risk, when God is in it.
When David went out to face Goliath, the fate of the nation of Israel was on the line. The risk factor was very high. But God didn’t send David out to face Goliath until He had prepared him for that moment through preliminary fights in which David was only defending sheep. In David’s first two fights, the risk factor was much lower. There wasn’t nearly as much on the line in his first two fights. When he experienced success in his first two fights, David had the confidence he needed to succeed in a situation where everything was on the line.
