God's Healing Power - Part Three

God’s Healing Power – Part Three

I taught a year each in middle and high schools subsequent to my resignation from my first pastorate. Teaching is the other love of my life.  Each year, my students' test scores were simply amazing.  My middle school students scored on average two grade levels higher than their present grade.  In the first semester, eighty percent (80%) of my high school students obtained proficiency in American history. In the next semester, ninety-nine percent (99%) of my students earned proficiency with twelve percent (12%) of them achieving advanced proficiency.  Those two years between my first and current pastorates enabled an opportunity for me to refine my teaching skills. In weekly Sunday School lessons and Wednesday night Bible classes, I utilize many of the best practices from my two years teaching. 

Moreover, my current pastoral assignment returned me to a place I associate with "home." Prior to accepting my first pastorate, I lived in New York City for thirteen years.  In that time, I became a "New Yorker." Life in the City with its rapid pace and straightforward way of dealing with people makes sense to me.  Little did I imagine the culture shock that awaited me in the South where "Southern hospitality and indirection" mask lying, obfuscation and duplicity.  The wilderness period combining the eight years of my first pastorate and two years teaching was an intense time of recommitment to my core Christian beliefs and personal principles.  

Within a few years of my time the South, I longed and pined for New York City.  Changes in the real estate market and the global economy essentially eliminated any possibility that my family and I could ever live in the City again.  Beyond my wildest imaginations, I experienced the actualization of Ephesians 3:20 in my life and ministry.  This verse offers the bold assurance "God is able to do exceedingly abundantly more than we can ask or imagine.”  Within the deep crevices of our hearts and minds, my wife and I nursed the dream of living in New York City again.  Unbeknownst to us, Almighty God heard these sincere prayers.  He answered them affirmatively by transforming the pain and loss of a failed pastorate into a means of returning us to a place where long-term friends and family live.  Above all, I am now the pastor of a congregation comprising people who individually and collectively desire to grow in their relationships with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.   Summarily, in the move back to the City and to another pastoral assignment, the Lord repays everything that the locusts of time, rebellion and indifference had eaten in the previous decade. 

My colleague now serves a church in an area of shifting and growing population.  A large unchurched population surrounds my church.  In both instances, our congregations are poised for incredible and immeasurable growth.  We will expand beyond our expectancy.  Success in these ministerial settings will exceed the possibilities of our previous ministries.  Again, God repays what the locusts have eaten. 

Should you have ever invested yourself in any personal or professional endeavor wherein you conclude you absolutely wasted your time and resources, you can find comfort and healing in Joel's bold declaration.  Leadership guru, John Maxwell, posits the necessity of “failing forward.”  Every experience yields important lessons which will travel with anyone who possesses the humility to learn from a failure.  Actually, a person with willingness to learn from each setback transforms it into a preparatory period rather than a waste of time.  Lessons earned in the school of hard knocks usually prepare a person for greater achievement in future ventures.  This practical truth demonstrates the wisdom of Joel's prophecy.  As disciples live into the fullness of their choices being open and willing to accept failure, they avoid total defeat even if a locust infestation occurs. 

Finally, God's unquestionable faithfulness solidifies Joel's prophecy.  As I write, I glance across a canopy of thirty-one years in which I see clearly God's mysterious and majestic handiwork in my life.  The gospel of Jesus Christ reveals God's enduring ability to recycle pain into purpose.  The crucifixion and resurrection assure us that every failure becomes the seed of good fortune.  The Bible consistently reiterates the truth of God's faithfulness.  Jeremiah comforts the exiles by reminding them that His steadfast love never ceases and His tender mercies never come to an end.  They are as new and unique as each morning's dawn.  When our failures are personal and moral, the great apostle of love, John, encourages the young disciples in the beloved community with the assurance that God faithfully forgives sin when we genuinely confess.  Moreover, He purifies us from all unrighteousness by removing any character defects that impede our ability to relate rightly to God's holiness.  Simply stated, the apostle Paul tells the Corinthian church "God is faithful." This divine attribute fulfils the biblical promise that the Lord will repay what the locusts have eaten.