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"For I know
the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are
plans for good and not for evil; to give you a future
and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11 TLB
“And they that shall be of thee
shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up
the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be
called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths
to dwell in.” Isaiah 58:12
The Hebrews have a saying among them
called, “Tikkum Olam,” which means, “repair
the world.” They take this saying very seriously
and many of their young people are urged by their parents
to participate in community projects that will help make
a difference. Therefore, they fulfill their inner need
to be a part of something other than themselves, which
promotes good-will in the world.
In the ministry you will experience many
things that cause brokenness in your own life. But more
importantly, you will find that the people you are working
with are extremely troubled and in need of repair so I
would like to deal with both aspects.
Apostolic ministers are empowered by
God to be more than path-finders. We are path-makers.
Many of the hurting people we minister to need someone
to become a trailblazer -- to cut a path that has never
been traveled. Some need more discipline. Some just need
a friend. Regardless of what they need, you are called
upon to blaze the trail and make it happen. The good news
is, through God’s help you can become a “repairer
of the breach.”
It makes no difference what kind of promise
you receive from the Lord, there is a problem attached
to it. When Israel approached the promised land, they
faced their Jordan at flood stage. They also faced giants
and mighty walled cities. Still, they didn’t back
off one bit. They continued their journey until they passed
over.
If you are going to obtain a ministry
that repairs the world, this kingdom will not come to
you without much tribulation. You will have to embrace
problems as friends and not treat them as strangers.
If you do not learn to deal with problems
and the emotional effect they have it could cause you
to prematurely burn-out. God wants to show you two things:
how to recover yourself, and how to restructure your life.
We have all experienced something of brokenness: hearts,
homes, health, finances, dreams, relationships. They are
all as breakable as bones and they're equally curable,
though harder to set. We may not all be basket cases,
but it's certain we all need the Doctor. Some of our problems
are real, others are imaginary, but whether it is a perceived
threat or real, the only true faith that defeats such
things is one that expresses itself when you can say,
“I believe in the ultimate, the consummate, the conclusive,
the absolute, the final, the genuine - the real.....God.”
God knows that you are unique, that we all have a capacity
to care, to hope and to believe. That’ why God wants
to rebuild your personality, your hopes, your future:
so you can move into the second phase of, “repair
the world,” by working with the King to repair others.
Let’s deal with what you do when
you are hurting. How do you repair yourself? How do you
rebuild your passion, once it has been drained by a disappointment
or by some setback? There is a very simple answer that
goes beyond what we have already discussed in previous
lessons. You need six kinds of friends to help you in
the ministry. These people can come from family, your
local church or other ministers. Relationships are the
best way to repair your spirit once it has become discouraged.
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