Last night, the local church that I go to, Emmaus, announced that we were in the midst of the last service. I could feel the shock and heaviness that fell over the crowd. It was hard for people to swallow. This loving community where many came to learn to love God and find a community in Christ was going to disappear forever. It was touch news to handle, but there was a reason to rejoice.
It is not easy to see God's plan at all times, and it is not easy to be happy about it during every second; but people were able to see the good that was going to come out of it. People were able to see that God was taking away the building and the structure in order to build the people. He took away the building and meeting time in order to have people step out on faith and focus on God and God alone. This change is not a trial or a judgment; in fact, it is a blessing in disguise. God is about to change many lives, and this is the way that He will do it. In this change, all of the people at Emmaus will be forces to examine their hearts and see how far they have come with God.
Sometimes, things like this happen so that we can examine our hearts. We have to look inside and ask God what He wants us to do. Even in the book of Acts, the Holy Spirit came and fell upon the people at the Pentecost but it did not stop there. Many wonderful miracles and powerful signs and spiritual families were being made. It was like a spiritual paradise, almost a Heaven on Earth. As good as that was, it was not God's plan. He had told them to fan out, disperse, and spread the good news.
Imagine the people! "But God, this is so good! We are doing miracles in your name and breaking bread and enjoying fellowship! Why would we ever want to leave this place?"
That is a hard temptation. When things are going well, we can praise the name of God so easily. God wants us to do more than enjoy the good times. He wants us to spread those good times outwards. He wants the Gospel to be more than just a local thing. He wants it to be global! Because the people listened to God and spread out as He said instead of selfishly staying in their momentary paradise, God was able to spread the Gospel world wide. It is not just in one area, Christians are all over now!
Not every situation that God gives us will look pretty in the moment. It is fine to cry and be upset, and it is natural to feel things things; as long as you do not let them consume you. At some point, you need to rejoice for God because He is about to do something new. We need to examine our hearts, see where we are with God, and see where He wants to take us.
-D
No comments:
Post a Comment