When was the last time you battled with feelings of doubt or discouragement? Maybe you set a New Year’s resolution and had real reservations in your ability to keep on track. Quite possibly you have been discouraged about an inability to land a new job or acquire that promotion. Or maybe you are just not sure your child will be able to overcome a struggle in school.
Doubt, discouragement, and distraction can at times infiltrate any Christian’s focus. In the book of John, chapters 20 and 21, we saw that amongst the disciplines. After Jesus’ death and resurrection, he appeared to the disciples on many occasions. But until Thomas saw with his own eyes, he continued to doubt and would not believe.
Then in John 21 the disciples were discouraged and distracted by their own needs, coming on the heels of Peter’s denial and their desertion of Jesus. So they abandoned their calling to follow Jesus and returned to their previous occupation of fishing. The gospel tells us they were having no luck catching anything until Jesus showed up on the shore. “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some,” said Jesus (vs. 6). When they did, the nets were so full they could not be dragged in.
These scriptures remind us how quickly anyone can get discouraged in their walk with Jesus and sometimes feel the urge to return to their own personal agendas. If we don’t stay focused, it can happen to us at any time and cause us to get sidetracked in our drive to be the church that Christ called us to be in this community. It’s a battle against doubt and discouragement.
But these scriptures also show us how quickly Jesus is willing and able to show up again, right there on the shore to extend forgiveness and to draw us back to His calling. God’s calling for this church in 2010 is to be a body of believers with a deep love for each other and a passion for reaching lost people. That calling has not deviated and will remain as our focus – no matter who serves as senior minister or other positions of leadership.
Please keep praying for your church – its elders, ministers, team leaders, teachers, regular attendees, and faithful members. Pray that we – as one unified body – can have a great impact in the community. And that each of us can commit to continued maturity in the faith. So when the next battle with doubt, discouragement or distraction hits, each of us will be better equipped to stay focused.
“I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things.”
Philippians 3:14-15.
Kevin Freeman
Melvin Lilly
Andy Bernal
Richard Cass
