“Oh rejoice in the Lord, He makes no mistake”
If your from the south you might be familiar with that strange door inside of your fridge that is supposed to house the butter. (We southerners just love our butter) This door usually houses the butter, but in other cases it may house other items that just so happen to fit.
In our fridge however, it houses medicine. In the fall of 2016 my wife came down with some strange symptoms and after months of hospital stays, tests, and much confusion in the medical world, she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. It is in this butter door that her medicine seems to fit perfectly into. The syringes must be refrigerated until at least the week that they are going to be used. It was only an act of God that allowed us to be able to find the issue that confounded doctors and led my wife and I on one of the hardest emotional journeys we have ever been on.
Each month I receive a text from the drug company reminding me to call them and reschedule a shipment of medicine from them. As the previous months supply dwindles down to only a week, I call the company and ultimately reschedule the shipment to be delivered when we only have 1-2 syringes left.
When it I arrives, I usually bring it in the house and tell my wife I have a surprise for her to which her reaction is one of joy and then immediate sadness. You see although this medicine is necessary for her general well being, its not like taking a simple pill everyday. This medicine is administered with an auto-eject (similar to an epi pen) to the fatty part of the different injection sites to which there are six. The back of the upper arms, the side hip area, and the tops of the upper thigh. The injection is made three times a week and you must remember to: not use the same site as before, rotate to the different sites, ensure the depth of the syringe is not to deep (feels funny), not to shallow (extreme pain), clean the site, hold a cotton ball to the area (so the medicine doesn’t leak out), hold the pin at the correct angle, make sure that it is pressed down at the correct pressure and so on.
Each and every week my wife endures the needle, but she says that the needle in comparison is nothing compared to the burn that the medicine brings. The arms are the worst. With each click of the pin I watch my wife cringe in suffering. Without the medicine the disease would take over he body eventually.
The quote from above is from a song by Ron Hamilton and the first verse says “God never moves without purpose or plan.” We can rest knowing that God has a purpose and plan for each life that He has given and each trial He allows.
The purpose of this blog is to bring help, comfort and encouragement to pastors and help others to understand their pastors better.
Pastors, There seems to be an unspoken code that we cannot share our pain with those we shepherd and to some extent this is true. When you stand in the pulpit it is your opportunity to exhort individuals, point them to Christ, and worship God, but you do not stand in that pulpit every moment of every day. When you step down you can share your burdens with others as the body of Christ is suppose to do. Bind together, pray together, help one another as the first church did.
The pastor must be careful that he isn’t talking about himself all the time. The main goal of a pastor is to shepherd the flock of God, not the other way around.
Congregations, Your shepherd has been sent from God and placed into a position over you. We all have struggles that Satan knows and will play off those struggles. How much more that the man of God who is on display before sinful people, he must be lifted up in prayer and encouragement.
Satan knows the desires of the heart. He knows what will draw you away from God the easiest and just like Job was allowed to be tempted by Satan, he will find our weakness and exploit it. Has there ever been a trial in your life when you just can’t shake the thought that if God were real He wouldn’t allow this, if God would only take you out of this struggle you will serve Him no matter what.
Congratulations you have found your worst trial to date. Satan will use any opportunity he has to pull you away from your faith in God.
Expect there to be more. The purpose of God allowing you to go through these challenges is to make you more like His Son, strengthen your faith, and/or bring you closer than you have ever been before. When one challenge is done and Satan feels as though he cannot use that issue in your life anymore he will relent, but more will come.
Stay close to God, Be steadfast, immovable.