“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-17).
Here we are again! We find ourselves soon approaching another congregational call meeting for our associate pastor position on March 2nd (or perhaps we’ve already had it depending on when you are reading this). But one way or another we find ourselves in that time of “prayerful consideration.” We bring our needs and our concerns to God asking for His guiding care as we work together as a congregation. So often we wish that God would simply beam down the answers or send us a sign (or at least a text) that might show us the way. That however is not God’s standard operating procedure.
God invites us again and again to turn to His Word, to prayer, and to conversation with fellow Christians to be shaped and formed by our “prayerful consideration” of God’s will for our lives. We often confuse God’s will as if there is one spot that we have to be at any given moment. We worry that with one missed sign or one wrong decision followed, we might get off track and miss that turn we should have taken. The beauty is that God is constantly at work in our lives. Despite our poor decisions, our undesired sins, and our willful stubbornness, God is able to bring things together for His plans and purposes. He is weaving together the many strands of life into the intricate tapestry of His grace. From this side of history we feel like all we see is stray ends that make no sense or plan, no rhyme or reason. But from God’s side of history, He sees the beautiful images that he is creating in this tapestry of life. As Paul says in his letter to the young pastor Timothy, “I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life” (1 Timothy 1:16). Our lives DISPLAY the beauty of God’s grace at work. In another place, Paul reminds us of the powerful ways that God is able to work. “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:10).
So, as we congregationally enter another time of prayerful reflection and consideration, we pray for God’s will to be done among us. In so doing, we don’t pray that God would simply zap us with the insight to know His plans. Instead, we turn to those places where He has promised to be: • We heed His call, as He invites us to go deeper into His Word. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
• We hear His invitation, as we go to Him in prayer and quiet reflection. “…do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6).
• We patiently discern his plans, as we shape and influence one another with our mutual conversation and consolation. “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17).
May God continue to guide us as a congregation, but may He also guide you as an individual. No matter what worries we may face or challenges we may undergo, we know that He promises to be at work in these same means of grace.
