When Stepping Back Brings You a Step Closer to God
A few months ago, it was announced that the resident pastor at my church was stepping down from his position as pastor because he had some struggles in his personal life and was working through them with a Christian psychologist. It was announced that He also had some stress from balancing the demands of his new business and ministry and that He will now be serving as a member of the kids' team.
As someone who was born and bred in a Christian community where ministry burn out was rarely ever mentioned, I was filled with awe. After the service, I walked up to him to say a few encouraging words, his response to me implied that he felt like the announcement must have been a downer and a low moment in the service but personally I didn’t think it was. On the contrary, I admired his courage, humility and sincerity.
It takes a lot of courage and humility to admit that you can no longer bear the huge load of a very important responsibility that was given to you.
Here are a few lessons I learned from this situation:
God is more interested in walking with us than us working for him
It's easy to think that being used by God and doing ministry is tantamount to intimacy with God, but I have found this to be untrue. Many have prioritized ministry over intimacy, yet will still never get God's stamp of approval. In Matthew 7:22, Jesus talks about how people will mention the many exploits that they did in his name and that Jesus will then tell them that he never knew them and that they should depart from him on the day of judgment.
Spiritual health is not determined or maintained by corporate church activities alone — we need quiet communion with God. Ministry should be an overflow of our relationship with God, not a substitute for it. We must never lose sight of our primary assignment as believers: to know God, to abide in him (as Jesus says in John 15:5) and fellowship with him; only then are we able to truly make him known. Apart from (abiding in) him, we can do nothing!
It’s okay to be in a leadership role and not be okay…
Many times, the people in the pews forget that the people on the pulpit are human and limited in strength just like them. This may result from our tendency to put spiritual leaders on a pedestal; we easily forget that they have their own struggles or grow weary and sometimes need encouragement. When our spiritual leaders are vulnerable to share their struggles and battles, it is not a sign of weakness but rather a show of strength and utter humility. Pastors aren’t superheroes, they are anointed men (and women) who need God’s grace and help like the rest of us. In fact, a leader’s willingness to be honest about their need for rest, healing, or counsel can become a powerful testimony that reminds the church we are called to abide in Christ before we serve Him and that wholeness matters more to God than titles.
How we respond to this kind of vulnerability matters a lot. We should respond with our knees bent in prayer, interceding for them and covering them.
Ministry can change as the seasons of your life change
A popular quote says, “the only constant thing in life is change”. As Christians, we must understand that ministry might not always look the same throughout the course of our lives. While the end goal of making Jesus known and knowing Jesus remains constant, how we do that may vary from time to time. My personal journey of ministry is a living example. Before I got married, I served in children’s ministry and was also the lead coordinator of the singles’ group. Now that I’m a wife and mom, ministry looks different for me. I’m more interested in helping women know their place in God and steward their homes according to God’s will amongst other things.
There are seasons where ministry for you will include pouring out in leadership and being at the centre stage (or pulpit), and other times of stepping back into quieter roles of rest, learning, or serving behind the scenes. Embracing the changing seasons of ministry frees us from clinging to titles and reminds us that our first call is to walk closely with Him, wherever He places us.
No rule that says because you have been on the production team for 5 years you have to be there forever, its okay to pivot to a different team as long you are in God’s will, serving faithfully and walking in obedience.
God cares about your mental health
Oftentimes, we fall into the trap of putting on a brave face with God; meanwhile, God wants us to lean on him when our emotional health is not at its best or thriving. He wants us to bring our raw, unfiltered emotions, such as anxiety, depression, fear, grief, or confusion, and lay them at his feet.
Hebrews 4:15 says “we do not have a high priest who is unable to feel sympathy for our weaknesses..” We can be assured that God is not a heavenly father who is intimidated or overwhelmed by our ‘big feelings’. He understands, and he has the power to give us comfort even when we are feeling low.
God loves it when we are honest about our pain, inabilities, and limitations. Besides, we are only likely to get healed when we uncover our pain rather than keeping it hidden. So we don’t have to dress our pain or depression up for him, we don’t have to put a drape over it and act like it's not there or mask it with toxic positivity. Whether it’s anxiety, depression, fear, grief, or confusion; God can handle it.
Healing begins when we uncover pain, not when we bury it beneath denial or mask it with pretend optimism. God delights in our honesty, because it is in our weakness and vulnerability that His comfort, grace, and restoration can truly meet us. There are many verses in the bible that point to the fact that God cares about how we feel:
Psalm 34:18 – “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
1 Peter 5:7 – “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
Matthew 11:28–30 – “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Ministry is Not Our Identity
It’s easy to confuse what we do for God with who we are in Him. Titles, roles, and responsibilities in church can subtly become the lens through which we measure our worth, leaving us feeling significant only when we are “useful.” But ministry is an assignment, not an identity. Our true identity is rooted in being sons and daughters of God — “Yet to all who did receive him… he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). Long before we ever held a position or served in a role, God’s love defined us. If tomorrow the ministry stops, his acceptance of us would remain unchanged, because “it is by grace you have been saved… not by works” (Ephesians 2:8–9).
When we remember that our identity is in Christ, we’re freed from the pressure of performance and from the fear of being “less than” if our role shifts. This perspective allows us to step back when needed, serve in hidden places with joy, or even change direction without feeling like we’ve lost ourselves. Ministry is a beautiful calling, but it is not the core of who we are; we are children of God first (Romans 8:16–17), and servants second.