I Samuel 17:34‭-‬35 But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the  lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it.”

The Good Shepherd fights the lion and the bear for their sheep. Pastors face a lot of insults, attacks, sleeplessness, hunger and all forms of danger for their flock. I have Pastor friends who gladly go hungry and give their last money to a disciple who needs it while they starve. Sometimes we are so quick to criticize Pastors, but we have not the slightest idea of what they go through spiritually and emotionally. Whenever you have an unbearable problem, you call your pastor and he/she bears it with you; together with the problems of all the others. Most of us will not last a day under the weight and burden they carry daily.

I saw a recent study on pastors that alarmed me. It says about 1,700 pastors leave the ministry each month due to depression or burnout; 90% of pastors report working up to 70hours a week; 80% say their pastoral ministry has negatively affected their spouses and families; 50% feel so discouraged that they would leave their ministry if they could; pastors have one of the top 3 suicide rates of any profession…and on and on.

This is startling. Don’t be an ingrate – our pastors deserve all the Honor and Respect for what they do. TODAY, WHY DON’T YOU TAKE SOME FEW MINUTES AND SEND A MESSAGE OF APPRECIATION AND THANKFULNESS TO YOUR PASTOR OR SHEPHERD. You are blessed!

              GRACEFUL MORNING