Church Hurt Is A Real Thing
If anyone has ever been in a position where you knew God was asking you to look for a new place of worship, then you can understand the place of unrest within my spirit.
In the moment, it’s hard to realize why God allows certain situations to take place within the church. Gossip, slander, and sowing discord among the brethren has no business within the life of a believer. If you are anything like me, you may have recognized that this was an open door to go, but still hesitated because that kind of change was not what you were hoping for.
It’s hard to confront wrongdoing. It’s hard to leave cultivated relationships behind. It’s hard to explain to your little ones that there has been a shift in gears, our normal route on Sunday morning has changed, and your heart aches because those same pews are all they’ve ever known. It’s heartbreaking to sit with your older kids to see they too have realized those whom they have trusted no longer can be.
No doubt, hard truths are a part of life. Difficult things allow us to grow, but they call it growing pains for a reason. Circumstances that are out of our control can be painful at times, but I equally find it comforting to have those truths be revealed. And as we swallow the hard truth that people fail us, we lean on a Savior that never does.
Church hurt is a real thing. We spent a decade of our lives with those we love and care about. The search for a new congregation of believers to serve, worship alongside, and fellowship with has begun. I know we aren’t alone on this journey, but to be quite frank, I would rather clean public restrooms for a living than church shop. It isn’t pleasant to come and go, visit here and there, and meet people you care about, only to tell them after a few Sunday mornings this isn’t the church where God wants us to be.
There’s a peace that comes with clarity. And there’s a blessing that comes with obedience when we do the right thing.
I am a person that loves being settled, and dislikes being disheveled. I enjoy meeting new faces but miss the familiarity of the ones I am used to sharing life with. I enjoy change, but this change is something I am begging God to help me with. I know He will. He has always seen us through. This isn’t a life and death situation, but at times has felt like a death.
When I see the devil warming his hands over sin, sometimes all I can think to do is cry. I’m old enough to recognize God allows ugly situations all the time. Satan’s schemes happen all around us, and when I see it for what it is, it allows my eyes to be opened to a new path, His path. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood.
We do have to shift gears in life. Nothing will ever stay the same, even if we want it to. Staying on the narrow will lead us to difficult truths that don’t always feel good when we follow its leading, but it is for our good, and His glory.
I’m not here to be comfortable in a pew at church. And I’m not here to stay complacent when I see sin at work. I’m here to be in God’s will and help spread the gospel.
With that, Psalm 100 will be what I lean on today. If I am blessing the name of the Lord when someone else curses it, when I continue to leave that door of forgiveness open when someone else wants to slam it closed, and when I am surrendering what I don’t understand, then I allow myself to see that His mercy is everlasting, and His truths endure to all generations.
I have the scriptures. I have the Lord. And I get another day to worship with my family, no matter what congregation I am a part of.
“Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.”
Psalm 100:1-5
Keep pressing forward in faith,
Natalie