The game of choice this year has been Pandemic, a cooperative board game where all players join together to defeat viruses outbreaks across the world. I don’t know what made us think of this, but there we are. Pandemic is a notoriously difficult cooperative game…
I am not fully decided whether it is the pandemic or the predicted economic and employment turmoil that I am most concerned about.
In Acts 9 we read of Saul’s encounter with Jesus on the Damascus Road, and his sudden and unexpected experience of being rendered blind. Done to him, it plunged him into darkness and removed from him every confidence, certainty, and comfort that he was previously used to, and made him dependent upon others.
I remember press coverage of a “private” conversation between world leaders at a G8 summit a few years back where our (then) prime minister complained about the lack of thinking time and the relentless unceasing mill of meetings and decisions. There was no opportunity to pause or reflect or to gather evidence before setting events in motion, and as the leaders talked they each revealed a longing for space to reflect and consider.
If you’re starting to struggle, you’re not alone. I’ve been grappling this week with feeling sad at the ministries and gatherings that have dropped away because they can’t meet, and trying to summon up the energy to make some calls to colleagues. I suspect I’m not alone in wanting things to hurry up in a return to “normal”.
“It is hopeless”; “We’re never going to be able to recover from this”; “I can’t see the way through”
Even if those are words you haven’t actually uttered out loud over the last 12months, perhaps you - or others you work alongside in your team - have silently listened to those thoughts surface in minds and hearts.
God is used to it when his people get to this place. Sometimes, it is ONLY when we get to this place that He can step in and transform a situation and transform us. If we cannot see the answer or the next step forwards, it means we’re finally trusting completely on God rather than being ‘god’ of our own plans.
Have you considered that the church is in captivity at present?
Compared to this time last year, we have been uprooted and taken to a foreign land, been prevented from gathering for worship and being community together, and have had to adapt to a strange socially-distanced, infection-resistant way of living that we yearn to leave behind.
The book of Daniel follows the positioning of a faithful follower of God in the midst of enforced captivity.
This is a very timely message to us right now.
Is there a better time than this to ‘thrive in change?’ That’s the theme of our 2021 residential conference and we can’t wait to be together. Of course, the pandemic lockdown rules themselves are constantly changing and there is a lot of uncertainty remaining. Our conference team is working hard behind-the-scenes to help us get together, even if the shape or timing of the conference has to change.
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