As pastors, we can’t allow negative, anxious thoughts to overwhelm us — at least not for long. After all, we serve a big, amazing God who is greater than all our troubles.

When we focus on everything that’s wrong around us, we can become defeated. But if we keep our focus on the things that are going right, we might just see the victory ahead.

Staying focused on the positive isn’t being a Pollyanna. It’s based in the fact of who God is and His love for us. If the Creator of the universe is on my side, working out everything for my good, then I know that even the worst frustrations can’t last forever. He may require me to make some changes to resolve an issue. He may ask me to do some things that are uncomfortable in order to make a breakthrough. But I can decompress better when I realize that God is looking out for me.

And, isn’t this a great testimony for us to give to our church? It increases the faith of those we pastor when they can see that we seek after God even when things look dark. After all, those in our churches are going through some sort of struggles. We can help them get through by keeping our focus on what God is doing in the big picture, not on our present circumstances.

That is the essence of what faith is–trusting God to bring something good out of a bad, frustrating, taxing circumstance. If He really is as trustworthy as we say He is, then we need to look to Him no matter what is going on around us.

– Nelson Searcy and Richard Jarman

The above excerpt is from p. 104-105 of The Renegade Pastor’s Guide to Managing the Stress of Ministry.

Pastors Nelson Searcy and Richard Jarman share their secrets to effective stress management with practical steps and insights that you can start implementing immediately! God wants you to be a fruitful, faithful minister of the gospel. He wants you, as a Renegade Pastor, to rise above average as you pursue God’s best for you, your family, and your ministry.

P.S. – Click here to grab your copy from Amazon today!

Your partner in ministry,

Nelson

© Nelson Searcy. All Rights Reserved.

About Nelson Searcy

Nelson Searcy is an experienced church growth strategist, pastor, church planter and coach, consulting with churches around the world. As founder of Church Leader Insights and the Renegade Pastors Network, he has personally trained more than 3,500 church leaders in over 45 denominations through live events, seminars and monthly coaching. Nelson is also the Founding and Lead Pastor of The Journey Church, with locations across New York City and in Boca Raton, FL. Nelson and his church routinely appear on lists such as “The 50 Most Influential Churches” and “The 25 Most Innovative Leaders.” He is the author of over 100 church growth resources and 18+ books, including The Renegade Pastor: Abandoning Average in Your Life, Ministry and The Difference Maker: Using Your Everyday Life for Eternal Impact, and At the Cross with the People Who Were There. He and his wife, Kelley, have one son, Alexander.