"For everything there is a season,
a time for every activity under heaven.
A time to be born and a time to die.
A time time to plant and a time to harvest.
A time to kill and a time to heal.
A time to tear downa nd a time to build up.
A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
A time to search and a time to quit searching.
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
A time to tear and a time to mend.
A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
A time to love and a time to hate.
A time for war and a time for peace.
What do people really get for all their hard work? I have seen the burden God has placed on us all. yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end" (Ecclesiastes 3:1-11
My beloved church is going through a time of transition right now. Our wonderful pastor, who I've known for close to seven years, is taking a year away from ministry and moving. As happy as I am for him and his family, this leaves me in a state of extreme uncertainty. This has happened before. Several times, in fact. What happens next? Who is going to take over pastoring our church? What if they aren't as loving as he is? What if they don't teach the gospel correctly? What if they lead our church down a road we never wanted to go? What if? WHAT IF?
The reality is written right there in the scripture above. "...yet god has made everything beautiful for its own time....people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end." OVC is a part of The Church, the complete and whole body of Christ. We are not in control. We can try to control it as much as we want, but ultimately it is God's work, not ours.
Ephesians 4:11 says, "Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God's Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ."
A pastor's work is to "...equip God's people to do his work and build up the church..." I can speak from experience that our pastor has done this over and over again. He has taught each and every one of us to go out into the world with love and compassion, and how to be leaders in Christ so we can go out and evangelize to others.
Trusting in God to pull our church through this is a difficult task. Actually, fully trusting God does not come easy anyway. We are blessed enough to have an elder board equipped with some amazing men of God, men who will make wise decisions based on prayer to God. Knowing that God has given our church these tools gives me great peace in knowing that what happened at my old church won't happen here.
In his farewell sermon, our pastor left us with these four points to follow for the rest of, well, Life.
1) Run after Jesus
— 2 Tim. 4:7-8 "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now, the prize awaits me - the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me, but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing."
2) Remember who we are and who God is
— 2 Cor. 5:21 "For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ." (My personal note for this one was "Living fearlessly for God")
3) Live with Gratitude
— Heb 12:28-29 "Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. For our God is a devouring fire."
4) Follow your passion
— Col. 3:23-24 "Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ."
These were all encouraging, and of course, accurate. This is a time of transition. Nothing more, nothing less. No matter what, God is in control. And only he knows what the big picture is.
