The power, control, and prestige of mounting a Quarter Horse immediately transport you into another world. Your posture is straighter. The dexterity of your hands are in tune with every nuance of the horse’s body as the leather reigns mold to your fingers controlling the bit. Atop the stead, you are balanced, nestled in a custom-made saddle, legs and thighs engaged around the massive back, and the balls of your feet are secure in the stirrups. Even your vision is more precise as you scan the terrain for potential hazards to horse and rider. Every hair on the horse’s mane and tail is brushed to perfection and his disposition is quiet; his attitude willing; and, he is intelligent enough to understand the one with the reins. You are the master of the horse.

It is a shame that many of us waste more time, energy, and effort on mastering our jobs and hobbies instead of mastering our calling or ministry. What is even more a shame is that many of us do not know what our calling or ministry is because we have not taken time out to become experts in the Word of God in order to discern what God is calling us to do. “How dare we know more about our jobs than we do the Word of God!” (Pastor Guy Lipkins professor at Crossroads Bible College Indianapolis, Indiana). Ephesians 4:11-12 says “and He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ.” Every Believer has a task that has been entrusted to him. This gift is not a present to be hoarded by the receiver; it is a gift to be shared in service to others.

In Paul’s letter to the Church at Colossae, he instructs the reader to “Tell Archippus: ‘See to it that you complete the work you have received in the Lord’” (Colossians 4:17). Archippus, whose name means master of horses (New Unger’s Bible Dictionary), was a Christian minister at Colossae (Philemon 2). Archippus probably needed this word of encouragement because he may have been experiencing a difficult time of self doubt, hardships in the ministry, or exhaustion as a result of ministering in a city infiltrated with false doctrines and false teachings. However, like Timothy, Archippus, and Jesus we are to “be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill [our] ministry” (2 Timothy 4:5).

Sure, in the face of ministerial obstacles, it is easy to revert back to what we are comfortable with doing. But, this is the reason so many Christians live unempowered lives. We are busily involved in activities doing them with excellence for the glory of God, but these are the things that God did not call us to do for His Kingdom. Let us not be like the 7 Disciples who decided to go fishing and caught nothing on the Sea of Galilee (John 21:1-3). Jesus is revealing Himself to us through His Word and through other people, but we do not recognize Him because we are too busy with convenient distractions – fishing for sport instead of fishing for souls. We must understand that every opportunity is not God’s Will for our lives.

“Guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called ‘knowledge’” (1 Timothy 6:20). The Holy Spirit “has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence” (2 Peter 1:3). Therefore, unconfessed personal sin, societal/organizational pressures, non-spiritual influences, the lack of resources, or pure laziness are no excuse for smothered, warped, unfulfilled ministries. The time has come to hand the reins over to the Master of your life “for woe is me if [we] do not preach the gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:16) in whatever way God has gifted us to do so.