"God is really blessing our ministry."
What does that mean? Well, when pastors get together, it usually means that numbers are increasing, baptisms are taking place, and the church is relatively problem-free.
Why is it that no one ever says "God is blessing" when attendance is going down faster than the Lions' Super Bowl hopes in September and problems are increasing faster than the price of a barrel of oil?
My recent ruminations on the goodness of affliction has reminded me that blessings sometimes look like something else. In the end, the greatest blessing must be the increased knowledge of God and will, regardless of the circumstances that God uses to bring that knowledge into our life.
So while I reject the Bob Knight theory of bad things, I am reminded that afflictions are blessings because they remind us of our hopelessness and helplessness alongside of God's great grace.
2 comments:
Larry,
thanks for the post. God is really blessing our ministry! Seriously. We have fewer people than we have had for a long time. But, our people are all serving in some capacity. They are becoming more aware of their desperate need for Christ, and the desperate need of our community for Christ. In terms of attendance, things are tough...in terms of spiritual progress, things have never been better. God has truly stretched my understanding of faith by what He has ordained to occur. Our people are slowly learning to pray things like---"God may you be pleased to..."
When Greg Linscott and his family were here for 5 months, we saw it as a blessing. However, it was a period of great trial for he and his family. Yet, I still heard him say--"God is really blessing our ministry!"
Good post...
'Tis true... James 1 was never "more real" to me than when Sam Hendrickson was my pastor...
:D
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