Posted by Rodetta Cook

Rodetta Cook has been a pastor’s wife for over 40 years. She and her husband, Ron, have actively served the Lord together in ministry during the entire time and are co-founders of Care for Pastors. She understands the expectations, loneliness and how hard it is to find balance in ministry as a pastor’s wife. Rodetta also leads the pastor’s wives initiative at Care for Pastors called The Confidante and ministers to hundreds of wives each week. She strives to share blogs with other pastors’ wives that will help them in their ministry walk.

Posted by Rodetta Cook

Topics: Balance · For Pastors' Wives · Loneliness

Dealing with Losses

Monday, September 12, 2016

In ministry, we as pastors’ wives often deal with the insecurity of our husbands getting fired or losing friends or family.

We did a pastors’ wives panel at an event a couple of years ago and I would like to share with you one of our Advisory Team Member’s response to this question, “How do you help pastors’ wives deal with fear of losing their jobs, friends, and family all at once?”

Here are some of Suzy’s thoughts:

These fears are common for pastors’ wives from time to time. Two things come to mind as to how to deal with this:

Practice the discipline of trusting in the Lord and remembering His plans are good. Here are a few of the verses I go back to time and again to keep my mind free from fear when it comes to the moves that we often are asked to make in the ministry:

Proverbs 3:5-6 – don’t lean on your own perspective but lean on the Lord and work at trusting Him

Isaiah 26:3-4 – allow the Lord to help you walk in perfect peace and work hard at trusting in Him

Isaiah 64:4 – remember that the Lord is acting on your behalf as you wait on Him – when you can’t see what is happening, He can!

Acts 17:26 – remind yourself how huge God is and that He has planned the “exact places where (you) should live.”

Talk to your husband about your fears…keep him close and let him know about the struggles of your heart. He will want to pray for you and can often put some of your fears to rest.

I know these fears can be very real at times, but God does not want us to live in a spirit of fear but to trust Him in all things. We are here to help you in any way we can or to help you walk through some of these fears.