Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Down days & Up Results

The other day I spoke with a friend who lost his pastoral position in a local congregation due to troubles with some of the other leaders in the church. In the process of commiserating with him I mentioned that "sometimes down days lead to up results". It was out of my mouth before I realized how meaningful those words can turn out to be.
In my own experience I was able to remember troubles with a co-worker at a church that led me to decide to leave that ministry and move to another church in another town. About five years later, the church I had left went through a rancorous split, and I thanked God for moving be out long before those disastrous days at my former church. Only God knew what was coming in the future, and his plan for me became more clear in the light of what happened at the former church.
Because of that and other experiences I am learning to take the long perspective on unpleasant experiences and to see the good that can come from various trials (James 1:2-3) that can produce staying power, a definite up result from a down day if ever there was one. Perhaps you are also learning that down days can lead to up results. If God is involved you can bank on it.