Dr. Jesse Middendorf is a retired pastor and General Superintendent of the Church of the Nazarene. Yesterday he shared this wonderful reflection for pastors – but it is a good word for anyone seeking to follow Jesus. May it encourage and inspire you today!

The reality has become overwhelming for many of our churches. What we hoped would be a “sprint,” down a somewhat predictable track toward a certain end, has now become a marathon. In my running years (long ago) I discovered a dramatic difference in preparation for sprints and marathons.

In the Church, we are more prepared for sprints than marathons. It is in this new reality that the substance of our message, the depth of our embrace of the message of suffering love, will prove its worth. In a world increasingly manifesting a spirit of despair, we who follow the Suffering Servant will learn new ways of “running the race set out before us.”

I am learning to pray a new prayer for our pastors, our district leaders, and our general leaders. I am praying we will not be paralyzed by the exhaustion of a marathon, but will find our stamina in hearing the voice of the Spirit who leads the Church. We are at our extremis. Our resources are not enough. In reality, we have always been short of having “enough.” Our sufficiency for this race, whether it be a sprint or a marathon, has never been in our resources. Our hope is in the One who promised his frightened disciples as He ascended toward the Father, “I will be with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Pastor friend, Rest in Him. Lean into the pain. Don’t be afraid to acknowledge your own spiritual, physical, emotional, and financial exhaustion. You are not speaking into the dark. He is with us. He will be our Resource.

We will make it through this, but where we arrive will not look like what we left. Let’s be ready for the “new things” He will birth in us and in His Church. He is our Hope. And we are the representation of that Hope. Lean in. Lean hard. Trust. Listen for the whisper. He is speaking.

Here is a link to his post on Facebook: