Quote from Forum Archives on May 13, 2004, 2:45 pm

Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>

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The Burning Bush Devotional

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05.13.04

Perspective

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness
be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in
everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests
be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all
understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble,
whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are
lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if
there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things. The things which
you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of
peace will be with you. But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last
your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you
lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned
in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know
how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full
and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things
through Christ who strengthens me. - Philippians 4:4-13.

The church faces an uphill battle in order to grow in numbers. I know that
many say not to worry about numbers just be concerned about spiritual
growth. However, to some extent the numbers of people in the local body of
Christ represent evangelism that is the result of spiritual growth. Why is
it an uphill battle? Because there are continually a stream of people for
one reason or another leaving the local body of believers. Most of those
leaving we have no control over and are unable to influence whether they
leave or not. For example in the five years I have been in this pastorate we
have lost in terms of numbers approximately 50% of those currently attending
Sunday School. If that many were to suddenly leave today we would be half
the size we were last Sunday.

Why have people left our church? Sadly, but with rejoicing, people do move
on from this world and into the presence of their Lord. This is sometimes
shocking when it is an active and still faithful believer. Part of your
family is gone who has contributed to the vibrancy and well-being of the
family. It can be devastating and does take some time to recover. Others
leave the church because they move from the area. Again, this hurts but we
know that God will use them in their new church. Some leave simply because
they grow up, go to college, get married or move for employment reasons.
Sometimes people leave because of reasons that are not clear. Are they upset
about something that has happened, have they fallen away, or were they never
born again? It can be disturbing but even with your best efforts and the
efforts and prayers of the entire church they remain separated and
apparently have no desire to return.

I had been somewhat troubled by the lack of numerical growth in our church.
Over the past few days, God has been speaking to me about looking at the
entire picture the entire context or perspective. Putting it in the
perspective of those who are no longer here, I can see that our church has
been very aggressive in outreach and evangelism. Even though numerically we
are at about the same or slightly lower level than we were at five years ago
we are not stagnate but alive and well.

Not only is putting things in perspective helpful in looking at the church
but it is also helpful in our personal lives and situations we encounter.
Many of us have a tendency to overreact and become discouraged easily when
some things happen. Whatever the situation whether it is marital,
employment, education, interpersonal relations, illness, injury, or personal
spiritual growth we need to keep it in perspective. Before we beat ourselves
up about what we have or have not done, we ought to look at the big picture.
What does God see when He looks at our lives? What does He want us to do at
this point?

Most likely, there is always room for improvement and surely we have made
some mistakes but everyone needs improvement and makes mistakes. Even though
we are in a terrible situation it does not necessarily mean that all is lost
and that we have failed or that God is angry with us. It could be that we
are right where God wants us to be and that we need to continue walking with
Him as He leads us through this time. The apostle Paul understood this as he
writes "...for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know
how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I
have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer
need (Philippians 4:11b-12)."

Remember to keep things in perspective and ask God what His perspective is
about whatever situation you are facing. Is the glass half-full or half
empty? Through the power of God, the glass is always, half full. Problems
are always opportunities for God to demonstrate His power in your life and
for you to demonstrate to those watching that your faith is real.

Copyright © 2004. Ed Wrather. Permission is given for use of the devotionals
on a non-profit basis with source credited. On June 8, 1998 the email
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