Finding a Way Around

In recent years with all we've faced and gone through, I have seen so many answers to prayer.  It has been very special and encouraging.  I'm grateful for each answer!

But there have been many things I've prayed for where I didn't see answers.  I trust God.  I trust His wisdom to know what's best.  But sometimes I've wondered about the unanswered prayers - the obstacles I asked God to remove.....but they didn't budge.  They remained bright as day - huge and unmoving.

At some point I came across this quote - "If God doesn't remove an obstacle, He'll help you find a way around it."  And that's what happened.  He helped me deal with the obstacles.  He showed me how to overcome the problem that they caused.  He led me in directions where the obstacle wasn't on the path.

I guess I still have questions that I wonder about, but I'll have all of eternity to ask the Lord about them.  The thing that is foremost in my mind is that God helped me deal with the obstacle even when it wasn't removed.  How awesome is that?!

"When they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away."  Mark 16:4 

"We triumph even in our troubles, knowing that trouble produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope - a hope which never disappoints us, since God's love floods our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us."  Romans 5:3,5

"Know Him in all your paths, and He will keep your ways straight."  Proverbs 3:6

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.  And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."  James 1:2-4

"Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me.  But He said to me, 'my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong."  2 Corinthians 12:8-10 

"I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."  Philippians 4:13

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."  Philippians 4:6

"The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent."  Exodus 14:14

I know there will continue to be obstacles on my journey, but I also know God will remove them or help me find a way around them.  That gives me such a sense of peace on the journey.  How faithful and good He is!

Through the years we have been blessed to work with some wonderful people - to be part of some inspiring groups - and live in interesting places.  One of the things we've learned is to "savor" each one of those.  You never know when things will change, people move on, or even God moving us on.

We lived in Holland for 18 years.  I thought we would continue living there for many, many years.  And suddenly! - everything changed and we were leaving.  We loved living there, loved the Dutch culture and people.  We felt very much at home and wanted to stay.  But God was leading a different way.  I'm so glad that we had "savored" every day there.  The years in Holland went with us in our hearts.

Our years in Kabul, Afghanistan were very different.  It was not an easy place to live!  So many challenges.  And yet, I loved living there and "savored" all the rich experiences.  We were there when the king was overthrown - an important moment in the history of the country.  We were there when the Christian church (for foreigners) was torn down - a sad and historic day.  The government had heard there was an "underground church."  So they tore the building down and dug deep into the ground looking for that church.  I have a piece of the marble floor of the church.  Every time I look at it, it reminds me to pray for that country that is going through such hard times - especially the women and children. 

If I counted right, we have lived in 13 different places, and worked with hundreds and hundreds of wonderful people.  Not everything was easy and smooth going, but, none the less, we savored each place, each relationship, each person.  I feel so blessed to have had the life we've had......"savoring" each minute.  I thank the Lord for how He's led us all our years.

"Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others."  Philippians 2:4

"Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms."  1 Peter 4:10

"A friend loves at all times."  Proverbs 17:17 

"God is love.  In this the love of God was made manifest among us, so that we might live through Him.  In this is love, not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His son to be the expiation for our sins.  Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."  1 John 4:8-11

"Share each other's burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ." Galatians 6:2

Our greatest wealth is not measured in terms of riches but relationships.  We've never had a lot of money, but we are exceedingly rich in the gift of people in our lives. 

Helping People Respond to a Fallen Leader

It is shattering for people to put their trust in a leader and then discover that leader has betrayed their trust. When a leader sins, not only is their life and the lives of their family devastated, but the lives of those who follow them are also deeply impacted. Below are a few things to keep in mind when helping a church or ministry to recover after the fall of their leader.

• It is important for people to forgive as often as they think about the leader. Lead them in praying for this person. Encourage them to speak out their forgiveness. Speak it out in prayer. Gently guide them so that cynicism and mistrust may not be allowed to find a hiding place in their hearts. Remember, they have been sinned against. They need time to work through the emotions of what has happened to them.

• Help people to recognize the difference between forgiveness and restoration. Even if the leader has repented, there is a necessary season of restoration for them to go through. The greater the sin the longer the period of restoration will be. The character weakness that led to the sin needs to be repaired and made right. If the sin was hidden over a long period of time and was not voluntarily disclosed, the greater the consequences.

• God is more jealous and concerned about the fallen leader’s character than anything that he/she has done for the Kingdom. God will sacrifice a person’s public ministry to regain right relationship with them.

• God will allow His own reputation to be hurt for the sake of bringing a leader to repentance. God will endure being mocked from outsiders in order to bring loving correction to our lives. How does He do that? He will expose a leaders sin publicly if that’s what it takes in order to restore them.

• "Anointing", "fruit" or effectiveness in ministry does not equal God's stamp of approval on any man or woman. God has allowed many a leader to experience His blessing while striving at the same time to bring the person to a place of repentance. Why does God allow that to happen? Because of His mercy. Because biblical truth will bear fruit even when the one speaking the truth may be living in sin. Eventually, a man’s sins will find him out and he will reap what he has sown.

• There are many ways people grieve the loss of a leader. When a leader falls, people go through the normal stages of grief: denial (shock), anger, bargaining, blame and acceptance of what happened. Each stage of grief is valid and we need to make room for people to grieve in their own way while helping them through the process.

• Followers are not responsible for their leader’s sin. Some people will blame themselves. Guide them away from that response. Their responsibility is their reaction to their leader’s sin. It may take some time for them to come to a place of Godly forgiveness and then acceptance that the church may need to move on without their former leader.

• Allow the church family to be a safe place for people to express their emotions, including anger, forgiveness, blame, etc. Some people may react for a period of time by closing down their hearts completely, or just giving lip service to the right action. Guide people to a place of forgiveness and healing and then on to restoration of the church. Counsel them about the importance of choosing to fear God so they can see how sin impacts God’s heart most of all.

• Establish a restoration team for the fallen leader. Give them clear guidelines as to how the restoration should take place and to whom they are accountable. Decide if the leader should be restored to their role within the church or to go elsewhere for restoration.

• Provide regular pastoral oversight and care for the church in the weeks and months after events have taken place. The church also needs a “restoration team” of godly leaders. Sometimes it is beneficial to have people from outside the congregation, help them to a place of complete restoration.