I already indicated my desire to stay where I was and the church shared their hope that I would remain their pastor. We were comfortable with each other and enjoying ministry together, then God stepped in with another opportunity to follow into something new.

Most of us enjoy being comfortable. We like the familiar and the predictable. There is a sense of peace that comes from knowing what to expect and where we fit in. In short, we don’t like to change, yet change is a given and can be one of God’s exciting blessings.

The church I serve, and the one I will be serving, are both facing a myriad of questions as we enter this transition. Likewise, I have questions of my own. In the past few days, as I began my advance planning, I realized I have little idea what my new worship services look like. I do not know what my weekly schedule will be, nor all of the expectations that will be awaiting me. I have only begun to become acquainted with the community and region and will have a list of questions when I arrive. My friends, my family, and everything I’ve known since I began my ministry will be hours away. My life is going to change.

It would be easy to be intimidated by all of the unknowns, but it is equally possible to be excited and energized by all of the changes. There will be new people to meet and minister with, new treasures to discover, new opportunities to share my gifts and to grow, and new encounters with God. The familiar will give way to the fascinating, and the comfortable to the creative. It will not easy, but it will be good, fun, and life-giving because God is at the center.

Too often we run from the blessing of being with God on the journey, by entrenching ourselves in what we already know and have. When we open our lives to God’s ideas and plans, the possibilities are endless.

Two scriptures have been on my mind though this transition. The first has carried me though from the beginning, “I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for good to give to you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11) the second, is also a favorite, “Glory to God, who is able to do far beyond all that we could ask or imagine by his power at work within us.” (Ephesians 3:20)

With the truth of these two wonderful promises at work, and placing all of my hope in God, how can the future be anything other than amazing?

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It is interesting that God gets the blame for these events when, in fact, they are more directly acts of nature. It seems easy to lay the responsibility with God as if God said, “Let’s send some damaging storms their way and see what happens.” God ends up looking like the ancient Greek and Roman gods who often found pleasure in playing with and tormenting humanity, and nothing could be further from the truth.

In tragic situations, I frequently hear people ask, “why did God do this?” Such a question is understandable in the midst of crisis, but it betrays an underlying belief that God is directly responsible for the bad things that happen. Yes, there are biblical stories that show some natural disasters as expressions of God’s judgement, but these are very specific instances. Nowhere, do we find every bad experience the result of a direct action from God. I suppose, part of this struggle comes from our understanding of God’s power and direction in our lives, but these attitudes often separate God’s power, direction, and judgement from God’s mercy, grace, and love, and that is a serious flaw.

Yes, bad things happen, but God’s creative power is at work in the darkest of moments bringing illumination. The power of the resurrection can transform our experiences of pain and suffering into something amazing and life-giving. Sometimes, bad things happen. Evil exists in the world, yet the Spirit of God is always at work in and through us to overcome evil and bring forth life from death.

Instead of naming disasters “acts of God,” maybe we should begin to declare unmerited blessings and healing as those holy acts. In moments of grace, forgiveness, and hope, we see the acts of God. With expressions of love, kindness and community, we see the acts of God. In places of sacrifice, service, and salvation, we see the acts of God.

This is the great message of the Gospel, not that God is a punitive, angry deity, but that God is gracious and long-suffering, full of mercy, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. The revelation of God is not to be found in thunderstorms and tornados, but in places of providence and protection, and in the lives of those who bring healing and love. In these places of compassion, we see the tender heart of God acting in love toward humanity.

People may never stop referring to disasters as, “acts of God,” but we have the opportunity to be the body of Christ; the representatives of God, and show the world what God is really like. We can be the hands of action that show compassion. We can be the voice of peace, hope and love. We can offer the ministry of our presence that reflects the truth of God’s presence with us. We can align our heart with the heart of God and, allowing the Spirit to work though us, make our actions, expressions of the real acts of God.

Opportunities are all around us. Where will we begin?

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While my experiences with dental work were always good, I did not look forward to the surgery or the recovery. If it could have been avoided, I would have done just that. No one likes to experience pain but, as in the case my tooth extraction, it can be necessary to get to where we need to go.

What I did not expect were the blessings that would come from this experience. Yes, I expected to be healthier and in less discomfort once the damaged tooth was removed, but the other blessings were a welcome surprise.

I was able to catch up on some much needed sleep and to spend a quantity of quality time with my wife and youngest daughter (even if the pain medication made me a little odd at times). I found time to read for work and for pleasure, to get caught up on computer work and to solve a few crossword puzzles. I found the joy in simple things like the comfort of lemon ice, the taste of store brand ice cream, and the pleasure of eating solid food again (especially when that food is my wife’s homemade meatloaf and mashed potatoes).

There were also the more meaningful blessings like the prayers, thought and calls of family and friends, the welcome at church as I enjoyed my first day out, and the welcome of friends the following day as I joined them for coffee. I especially appreciated the time I spent aware of the presence of God in prayer, devotions and meditation.

In the midst of a challenging and somewhat painful time, came a myriad of unexpected, yet very welcome blessings. As I look back over the past week, I cannot help but think of what a small sample of life it represents. How many important blessings are only discovered when we walk through challenges? How much life is there to be found even in the midst of pain.

None of us want pain and challenge, but when we must go through them, maybe we can find strength by looking at the blessings they uncover and the new opportunities they present. Throughout my recovery, my wife kept offering me things to, “help take my mind off of the pain.” Maybe, when when our focus is on God, friends and family, and on the precious blessings that are ours in the midst of our adversity, we can do just that.

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All of us wrestle with our identity and would that it were only though our teenage years of self discovery. Many of us are haunted by the question of who we are and what our place is in the world. If the question is left unanswered, we will pursue a myriad of paths to fill the inner void, many of which will lead to pain and destruction.

The glorious truth is, that no matter what the world around us may say, our identity and worth is not determined by what we possess, by where we’ve come from or by what others think of us. Instead, it is fixed in knowledge that we are created in the image of God. We bear God’s mark upon us and, even more affirming, we are loved by the One whose image we bear.

Our craving to understand who we really are is satisfied by drawing near to God and allowing God to draw near to us. It is when we cease from our striving to find validation in temporal things or the affirmation of others, and accept the awesome love of the Creator, that we can discover the answer we long to find. It is God, the One who calls us by name, who declares that we are of infinite worth.

Sometimes, amid the many voices around me that tempt me to embrace another reality, I need reminded that my hope, my identity is is God. Maybe, you too wrestle to know who you are. Maybe, you too are tempted to look in places that can never satisfy. Today, we can together make a decision to celebrate who we are and like Brother Thomas declare, “I am one loved by Christ.”

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