July 16th, 2009

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Who Is In Charge?

Thursday, July 16th, 2009

Like many fellowships we have recently had our share of “incidents” that have made me pause and seek direction.  I think a quick recap may help.  Several of our folks have had battles with cancer.  We have an 11 year old diagnosed with a plastic anemia after months of “who-knows-what-is going-on?” type of treatment.  Loss of jobs.  People leaving the church over disagreement with musical direction.  One family leaving because of a lack of direction to move to a more permanent facility.  Another family leaving because we are considering moving to a more permanent facility.  (note: we are staying put for another year it looks like).   People of all ages suffering physical attacks.   A daughter who thought she had a job receiving word that they decided not to open a daycare center after all.  My bike spill that I blogged about two days ago here that has me sore about all over.  I could go on but you get the drift.

What is going through my head right now is what times like these are supposed to do: what am I supposed to learn and share?  Now, you have to understand this has implications for me as a pastor which I won’t go into right now.   But what God has brought to my mind is Psalm 37, particularly verses 1-7.  (They are too lengthy to include right here so please take a moment to read them).   I have also been listening to a CD of a message by Pastor James MacDonald on his first Sunday back following his treatment for prostate cancer.  God timed it perfectly because it is on…you guessed it…Psalm 37.   One thing I am learning is the theme of Psalm 37 is Trust and Be Faithful.  I haven’t worked it all out yet in my head or my heart except that I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is in charge.   I will possibly share some more thoughts with you down the road (after I share them Sunday.  Now you know one of the implications this has for me).  In the meantime, this song had a profound effect upon me today as I thought about the psalm and tried to “flesh out” my thoughts.  I have used it before but won’t apologize for that.  I just hope it might help you if you are going through a tough time.

Do you have any thoughts you would like to share?  I would love to hear from you.