Photo: Ivan Agaba

By Ivan Agaba

I am the least likely person to say I’ve mastered this. 

Alongside working full-time as a civil engineer, I serve as a pastor. I am also a husband and a father. And, at the moment, my work involves two sites about 150 kilometers apart, between Kampala and Iganga.

So, this is a reflection on some lessons God has been teaching as I seek to be faithful in the different responsibilities he’s entrusted to me.

First, perhaps the better way of thinking about this question is not always asking. “How do I balance work and everything else, but ‘How can I faithfully honor God in the different callings and responsibilities God has given me?”

All my work and its extras is never outside God’s concern. Neither is my marriage, parenting, rest, nor tasks like taking the trash out at home; Christ is Lord over all; nevertheless, here are four quick lessons I’ve picked up learning to balance along the way.

1. Appreciate the season.

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven”—Ecclesiastes 3:1. About a year ago, I was coming out of an 8-month season of unemployment. During that period, I served as a pastor and considerably had more flexibility.

I attended conferences, participated in church activities, and gave more time to shepherding people. Today, things look very different. I’ve missed multiple meetings and conferences that could have provided opportunities for theological and ministry growth.

I’ve learned, though, to see the season differently. Perhaps this is primarily not a season for attending to every opportunity. Perhaps it is a season for faithfully applying what I previously learned.

The same is true of my professional work. There are occasions when I miss professional engagements and opportunities that could build relationships with influential people in the engineering industry. My colleagues might describe some of these as important “connection” moments. Networking, you know. 

Other times I have declined an evening engagement because I need to return home to my family or because of a church commitment. That can feel like missing out. But I am learning that under God’s providence, I do not need to “maximize” every opportunity that shows up. I just need to first be faithful with what is already in my hands.

My confidence as a Christian does not ultimately rest on having the biggest professional network or Christian learning. God is sovereign over my social capital, careers, relationships, and opportunities. He is my real “connection.”

This doesn’t mean I am less active in building my career. My engineering work matters. I want to do it well, honestly, and diligently. My faith is not an excuse for, and my job is not something to endure until I can get back to “real ministry.”

Rather, my engineering work is one of the places where I am called to serve God and love my neighbor. At the same time, I recognize the particular responsibilities God has given me as a pastor, husband, and father. So, I am learning to embrace the season rather than constantly wishing I were in another one.

2. Communicate faithfully.

With people and with God, one of the greatest practical challenges of living across these different responsibilities is communication. People won’t always see what is competing for your time. And so, if you do not communicate clearly, they easily feel neglected, disappointed, or disrespected.

One recent Sunday, my daughter Joanna saw it fit to communicate to “Pastor-Daddy” beforehand that she and Mummy were actually going for shopping. She respected me enough to say that, and that small experience reminded me that communication is one way we love and honor people “created in the image of God.”

Of late, I have become more intentional about communicating my availability with my wife, church leaders, church members, colleagues, and supervisors. I let people know when I am available and when I am not, rather than leaving them to assumptions.

Yet good communication is not only about managing people. It begins with dependence upon God.

The more demanding the season, the more I recognize my need to listen to God through his Word and to bring my circumstances to him in prayer. I have found myself becoming more disciplined about reading Scripture before I sleep—not merely as another item to tick off a spiritual checklist, but because I need to hear God speak through his Word before bringing my requests to him in prayer.

That has brought me more rest, not because my circumstances have become easier (they haven’t), but because I am increasingly reminded that “I am not the one ultimately holding everything together”.”

3. Receive the gift of a support system

I have also become increasingly grateful for the people God has placed around me. In church, I have experienced the blessing of serving alongside supportive elders. The biblical pattern of shared leadership and plurality of elders is not merely a theological structure; it is also a practical gift. Ministry was never designed to depend upon one person doing everything.

In my professional life, God has also provided supportive colleagues who help carry my responsibilities when I am away on construction sites. And then there is my family. I am especially grateful for a supportive wife who allows me to talk through my worries, carries significant parenting responsibilities when I am away, and, perhaps most importantly, prays for me.

Faithfulness is rarely a solo achievement. God often cares for us through the people he places around us. This is also why the Christian community matters so much for Faith & Work. We need one another.

We need brothers and sisters who can remind us that our identity is not ultimately found in our job title, our ministry position, our productivity, or our professional success. We belong to Christ. And from that secure identity, we can faithfully serve wherever God has placed us.

4. Depend on God for rest.

Perhaps one of the clearest lessons for me has been my own limitations. There are Saturdays when I struggle to get out of bed. There are weekdays when I realize just how tired I am. Those moments remind me that I am not limitless. There are times I have approached rest as though it were simply what happens when I have finished all my responsibilities. But the problem is that there is almost always more work that could be done.

There is always another report, a site issue, a sermon to prepare, somebody to call, something. If rest only comes after everything is finished, we may never rest. My rest should be in Christ.

That does not make me careless about my responsibilities. Rather, it frees me to work diligently without believing that everything depends on me. There are seasons when I need to work hard. There are also seasons when I need to stop. And in both, I need to trust God.

Faithfulness, rather than perfect balance

I am increasingly convinced that perhaps “balance” is not the best word for what we are trying to achieve. There are seasons when work will demand more from us. There are seasons when family responsibilities will rightly take priority. There are seasons when ministry opportunities will increase and others when our professional responsibilities will.

The goal is not necessarily to give every responsibility an equal amount of time. The goal is faithfulness. Faithfulness to God in our work, our churches, our family responsibilities, and faithfulness in receiving the limitations and opportunities of the particular season in which he has placed us.

I am still learning this. I still overcommit. I sometimes disappoint people. I still struggle to know when to say yes and when to say no. But I am learning not to measure faithfulness by how much I accomplish. Instead, I am learning to ask, “Am I faithfully stewarding what God has entrusted me today?”

That changes how I think about both ministry and work. My engineering career is not a distraction from my Christian calling. My pastoral ministry is not an escape from my professional responsibilities. My family is not an interruption either.

All of these are areas in which I am called to love God and love my neighbor, and ultimately, none of them are sustained by my ability to manage life perfectly. They are sustained by the grace of God. So, in this demanding season, I am learning to work diligently, communicate honestly, receive help gratefully, rest when necessary, and depend increasingly upon God. Not because I have mastered the balance, but because I am learning, one season at a time, what it means to be faithful. 

The writer is a husband to Mary, with whom they have two children; he pastors at Ebenezer Chapel and works as a roadworks technical manager and supervisor. He’s also part of the Bukoto Faith and Work Cohort