The Dearest Place on Earth

I want to share with you a radical change of heart that has taken place in my life in the past few months.

Since the beginning of this year, my local church has been going through some really tough changes on the heels of a tumultuous, challenging season. I've never experienced the emotions, good and bad, towards my church family that I have in the past few months. I've been confused, anxious, and scared...all of which are evidences of my LACK of trust in God's sovereign plan over my life. Sadly, I chose to first distance myself from my Savior instead of first crying out to Him for faith and direction. I caused myself hours of needless worry and anxiety...not because I now realize I can put my full trust in the leaders at my church, because I can't. They are sinners saved by grace, just like me. But the anxiety and worry was needless because I CAN and should put my full trust in the sovereign God of the universe...the One who has full authority over my life, over the life of the church, and over its' leaders.

I feel like God suddenly lifted the veil from my eyes to see my OWN self-righteousness in how i was responding to these past few months. What He's revealed to me, is this: if I believe God called me to this local church, and the Church is the Bride of Christ, then why would I not treat the bride of Christ as I would my own earthly spouse? If my spouse, whom I made a covenant to stick with 'for better or WORSE', has sinned against me but is now showing signs of repentance and humility, who am I to cast judgment on them and say they don't DESERVE my forgiveness and then walk away from that covenant? If we as Christians firmly believe that a husband should not leave his wife even if she sinned against him, but that he should stand by her side and lead her to genuine repentance...why would we not take on the same attitude within the Church? Yes, a pastor has more spiritual responsibility weighing on his conscience because God has anointed him to shepherd a flock, but that pastor is STILL just a man. So for me to not forgive, or to pass judgment, or to 'flee when things get hard' is to ultimately say (I believe) that God's grace is sufficient for MY sins, but not for my pastor's. God opened my eyes to see that I was headed down a road where I was quickly allowing my heart to be governed by pride and my own judgments, rather than be governed and led by the Gospel. Praise be to God that He stopped me in my tracks!

I want to thank the pastors at my local church for how, though they are still sinners, they continue to pursue humility no matter how difficult things become.

In looking for some form of encouragement, I came across Charles Spurgeon's Morning & Evening for today. =)

The King's Highway

The wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. (Isaiah 35:8)

The way of holiness is so straight and plain that the simplest minds cannot go astray if they constantly follow it. The worldly wise have many twists and turns, and yet they make terrible blunders and generally miss their end. Worldly policy is a poor, shortsighted thing, and when men choose it as their road, it leads them over dark mountains. Gracious minds know no better than to do as the Lord bids them; but this keeps them in the King's highway and under royal protection.

Let the reader never for a moment attempt to help himself out of a difficulty by a falsehood or by a questionable act; but let him keep in the middle of the high road of truth and integrity, and he will be following the best possible course. In our lives we must never practice circular sailing nor dream of shuffling. Be just and fear not, Follow Jesus and heed no evil consequences. If the worst of ills could be avoided by wrongdoing, we should, in the very attempt, have fallen into an evil worse than any other ill could be. God's way must be the very best way. Follow it though men think you a fool, and you will be truly wise.

Lord, lead Thy servants in a plain path because of their enemies.