Persevering with a Foundation of Faith

When something defies explanation or just leaves us trying to fit a square peg of circumstance into the round hole of our logic, we sometimes reach the profoundly unresolved conclusion that, "it just is what it is." While perhaps not a satisfying conclusion from a cognitive perspective, it certainly challenges us to find peace from a faith perspective. I, perhaps as some of you lately, have been looking for explanations as to why certain things change…

I mean how does it make sense that something I’ve grown comfortable with needs to change? What causes some families to start worshipping at other Churches? What causes Church leaders to have differences of opinions? Why does a particular style of music or a way of worshipping need to change? And yes, why do ministers need to come and go?

To all such questions regarding change... we might be tempted to make assumptions and speculate…we might be tempted to blame and criticize… and we might be tempted to assume the worst of Brothers and Sisters in Christ just to make some kind of sense of it all. But at the end of the day, if we’re honest with ourselves, we have to simply admit that "it just is what it is." And you know what? That’s OK... it’s OK because when human reason and explanation fail to provide adequate answers for the uneasiness and anxiety we sometimes feel, we are forced to trust in an all knowing, all powerful and all loving God. And when we conclude that a thing "just is what it is," we can be confident that whatever it is…

God either purposed it, or can bring forth His purpose from it. Change is an essential component in the life of any Church. It is a prerequisite reality for those Churches who put God’s purposes above their own comfort levels. And for that reason alone, we do well to accept certain changes without labeling them good or bad… without looking for someone to criticize, gossip about, or blame for the changes. God alone is to judge the motives of the heart and He alone has the power to bring good from bad… better from good… and best from better if we simply trust Him to fill in the blanks… the voids in our human understanding… and find hopeful expectation in those things about which all we can say is that, "it is what it is."

So the bottom line I think is that in all things we should trust God and look to the future… accepting changes with the same faith and enthusiasm with which we pray for His will to be done.