Ministry is not just the Father's Business... (1)

...it must be your "Family Business" too.

Interestingly in the past week, I've been really blessed to have listened to 2 Webcasts - 1 Live - hosted by Mrs Lois Evans (@LoisEvans) and the second one was hosted by her daughter Chrystal (@ChrystalHurst). The topics covered - "Raising kids that don't hate the Ministry" and "Living the life you love" respectively - a good segue to this post.

I cannot explain how but in the past couple of days I've been thinking about Mrs Moses-Amram and her family. I'm sure you know who I'm talking about. What if I tell you her first name starts with a "Z"? Yes, Zipporah - you got it!

In thinking about her, I also wondered not just what became of her but what became of their sons. Being blessed with 2 marvelous sons, I tend to pay attention to stories of sons in the Bible so I know what to watch and pray for - or even against.

I actually nicknamed her "Zipped-up Zipporah" but as I thought about it, I wondered what role her husband played in her not being mentioned much in the Bible especially as a "help-meet" in his ministry - and what we can learn from that "Couple in Ministry".
She's introduced to us in Exodus 2: 16-22 when she was given to Moses as a wife and she bore their first son. The next time was when she swiftly intervened and prevented her husband from being killed by God in Exodus 4: 24-26. Let's read it together so you see what I saw

²⁴ As Moses was on his way to Egypt, he stopped at a resting place for the night. The Lord met him there and tried to kill him. ²⁵But Zipporah took a flint knife and circumcised her son. She took the skin and touched Moses’ feet with it. Then she said to him, “You are a bridegroom of blood to me.” ²⁶Zipporah said this because she had to circumcise her son. So the Lord did not kill Moses. (ICB)

It was obvious that she knew what God's requirements of His children - not just those in the Ministry - was. For whatever reason, maybe refusing to support and submit to her husband's faith, their son had not been circumcised. This passage raised at least 2 Red flags for me...

1. We must all be careful not to assume that every Mrs Pastor is a "Pastor (Mrs)" - I know that it puts some Pastors' wives under unnecessary pressure. In fact, sadly I think some Pastors' wives take that "yoke" upon themselves - and really they shouldn't. I believe that every Mrs Pastor has a unique position which she cannot and must not trade for anything else. You are your husband's help-meet and that role and the related responsibilities (including SE24) cannot and must not be delegated. Personally, I've found fulfillment in standing by my husband and helping in the Ministry in spots that need "help." That's not to say that I can do everything but I can be part of the solution until someone who has more grace or the gifting` for that area shows up.
2. As Mrs Pastor, you must never disobey the Lord even if you don't understand or agree with His instructions to your husband. We must also be quick to intervene/intercede in the event that the source of disobedience is your husband. Although this passage doesn't tell us who the disobedient person was ultimately, obeying God is a joint responsibility because you, your husband and your family are all blest by obeying God.

 Let's stop here for now...

Praying you have a great "Gust" of God in your lives this month!