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The Ministry of Presence
Posted on July 26th, 2012 No commentsAs I was with Moses, so I will be with you;
I will never leave you nor forsake you.
Joshua 1:5
On Father’s Day, my pastor gave a lovely sermon during which he compared the role of earthly fathers to our Father in heaven. He was equipped to do so because, his own father was, and continues to be, a factor in his life. God has blessed him greatly.
My pastor, a young man, shared anecdotes from his youth about his father always being at his basketball games and other events. He used a phrase that stuck with me all over a month later. “The Ministry of Presence.” Normally, when I think of ministry I think of action. One of the definitions of minister is “to give service, care, or aid; attend, as to wants, necessities, etc”. One of our human needs is just to be connected to other people. We do not want to be alone. Presence is my word of wisdom for the day.
Even if we cannot do anything for another person, just being with them makes a positive difference. Often, I feel a pressure to do something. If a person is sad, I feel a pressure to say something cheerful or comforting. If a person is in a good mood, I feel a need to keep up my end of the conversation and be interesting, even when I don’t have much to say. However, I don’t always need other people to talk to me or do anything for me. I can enjoy a companionable silence. So my point is, don’t shy away from people because you don’t know what to say or do. Just be there.
Also, our heavenly Father is content to just have us with Him.
Be still before the Lord, all mankind,
because He has roused Himself from His holy dwelling.
Zechariah 2:13
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The purpose of If I Knew Then What I Know Now is to share some insights that I wish someone had told me about when I was younger. There’s a fuller explanation on my first post, written on May 14, 2012.
3 responses to “The Ministry of Presence”
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Sometimes silence is more effective than words.
When one suffers the lost of a love one or is sad emotionally or spiritually often heard tons of words of comfort and passages from the bible, and they are sick of hearing more; they would often wish that we could just sit quietly and be their companion for short while.
Thank you for your post.
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Viviana August 3rd, 2012 at 07:29
Two years ago I was “downsized” and without a job. A week later, my sis-in-law was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, my good friend with breast cancer and another had a stroke. On top of that, I went to visit my mother-in-law who was behaving strangely and after taking her to the doctor and then neurologist, she was given a diagnosis of dementia. I brought her home where I still care for her. I was just beginning to grieve my sis-in-law and friend when another friend fell from a roof while assisting her husband and passed away. In total, I attended 11 funerals last year. This year I organized and attended a Retreat entitled ” Lord Restore Me” 2Kings 8:1-6 upstate, NY. It was by the water that we cast our stones of burden and grief into the water realizing that we would no longer Grieve Loss But celebrate the Life ! Today, I continue to care for My mother-in-law who enjoys moments in the Now ! I have not looked for active employment and the Lord is sustaining me. He is Restoring Me !
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pelicanflies July 27th, 2012 at 11:44