Pastor urges patience among congregation
Published:Saturday | February 2, 2019 | 12:00 AM
Short is the fuse of many churches when dealing with members of their congregation who may show signs of uncertainty, struggle or waywardness where their faith is concerned.
And though sometimes the certain member may only be in need of clarification or even a word of encouragement, this low tolerance level of some spiritual institutions shut tightly the gap of opportunity that the member’s Christianity may be depending on.
Touching on the popular dilemma, daughter of Dallas mega-church, Pastor Tony Evans and motivational speaker, Priscilla Shirer, who is popular for her role in the Christian movie War Room, encouraged her cyber-congregation to never be ashamed of their struggle.
STRENGTH STRUGGLE
“Life is hard. Stuff happens and we have questions sometimes that cause us to have to wrestle through our faith, and our faith is strengthened and encouraged through this wrestle.
“For anybody who is struggling and for anybody whose faith is wrestling just a little bit, I want you to know that God hears every question that you’re asking, all the ponderings of your heart and anything that others around you might make you feel guilty for asking,” she said.
Shirer acknowledged that people will have encounters in their lives that will change their reality, opening doors to new questions based on the new circumstance that they are in.
“You need to know that your God loves you enough to give you margin and grace to ask the questions that you need to in that season of your life.
“When John the Baptist asked the question, ‘Are you the expected One or should I look for somebody else?’ Jesus didn’t send back a rebuke or a response of offence. He was not mad at John’s frailty. And likewise, you need to know that if you’ve wavered just a bit, wondered or asked questions, God is not mad at you.
“He sees you and He knows where you are. He sees every tear, and not one of those tears has been lost in the carpet fibre of your bedroom floor. Every single one of them has been captured in the palm of our Mighty God,” she preached.
The evangelist noted that sometimes faith is best built in the gymnasium of obscurity, like that of John the Baptist who later baptised Jesus.
“Oh, if the people of the church would give each other as much grace as Jesus gave to [John and continues to give] us!
“There is only One who was ever able to say – He who is without sin cast the first stone, and only One who ever had the right to cast that stone, and He chose not to do it, and yet we have so little grace for our brothers and sisters in Christ.
“I’m saying, if there’s a person in your life that is going through some things, don’t scold that person for struggling. Give them the same grace that Jesus gives us.”