A year or so ago, I wrote an article reflecting on lessons from a losing season. As a sports fan, I was at an extremely low point. The Braves had just been eliminated from the playoffs, and the Florida Gators were facing another season under a coach that clearly was not getting it done.
What a difference a year makes!
As I am writing this, I am coming off one of the best sports weekends of the year, with the Braves sweeping the Astros to clinch their 19th division title since the realignment 32 years ago, and the Gators defeating the Auburn Tigers, getting their first away win in 638 days. Things are looking well going into the fall for my two teams.
Last year, I wrote how, as sports fans, we model faithfulness to our teams even when they are down. But this year, as I have been reflecting, I am reminded of 2 Timothy 4:2:
“Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season.”
I have been in ministry now for over a decade and have seen the seasons come and go. I have seen times when preaching the Word is well received by both the lost and the saved, and times when you preach and people are ready to pick up pitchforks and hurl stones.
I am entering now my sixth year at my current church, and I am beginning to see God move in ways that I didn’t know were possible. We have seen more baptisms this year than we have seen in twelve years. We are seeing our student ministry grow and some signs of spiritual health that cannot be measured by numbers and charts.
As I celebrate these wins, sports reminds me that the faithfulness required for succeeding in ministry is not found in hopping from place to place. It is found in faithfully sowing, faithfully watering, praying, and seeing God work and move and bring the growth.
As a fan, the joy that you experience when your team succeeds is built upon the pain of the difficult seasons. The joy in the spiritual harvest is built in the sweat and labor put in during the difficult seasons.