Apr 28
2022
Navigate | A Sermon Series Through Proverbs
Prussian military commander Helmuth von Moltke, who lived from 1800 to 1891, wrote, “No plan of operations reaches with any certainty beyond the first encounter with the enemy's main force.” Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson said something similar when he quipped, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” Both men pointed out that no matter how great a plan one has for a battle, whether in war or a boxing ring, adversity will come and force you to navigate unexpected circumstances. Helmuth von Moltke said it more eloquently, Mike Tyson said it more memorably.
I remember the sense of freedom I experienced when I finally got my driver’s license at the age of 17. On my first day of driving on my own, I went to Alki Beach with my friends as we enjoyed the sun, sand, and waves. It was glorious!
Does anyone make meaningful annual resolutions anymore? There are important resolutions to make, physically, socially, economically, etc. Most resolutions feel like emotional reactions to all the mistakes we made the previous years. In an effort to correct our bulging waistlines, our broken relationships, or our beleaguered balance sheets, we determine to "do better," or at least different, than the previous year. While it feels good to set goals, without a concerted commitment to fulfill them, they function more like wishful coins thrown into a well we’ll never see again. Even if we don’t fulfill our earthly resolutions, it seems like every year we still make them--the same cannot be said about us spiritually. 
For some, 2020 has made it more difficult to be thankful. Everything that once brought us life feels disrupted. Difficult circumstances we cannot control have robbed us of what we could otherwise enjoy. The worst thing we can do is grumble out loud (and online) or dispute silently within ourselves. I have learned the hard way how this kind of approach makes things worse. What begins as a spark of complaint quickly rages into a fire of contempt. One word of criticism, one heated conversation, one angry post, even one snarky comment quickly leads to another and another and another. The best thing we can do in these kinds of circumstances, is give thanks. 
***Below are a few pastoral comments shared in our most recent member meeting***
Without question, many of us feel separated and disconnected. This long trial has tested our patience, our discernment and our love. As I have said more than once, even if we have not been exposed TO the virus, many have been exposed BY this pandemic. I wanted to take a few minutes to speak about what I consider the most dangerous aspect of this unprecdented moment in history. More than the threat to our physical safety, more than our mental health, more than our bank accounts, COVID 19 is a threat to our unity as a church.
It feels like we are living in the middle of the book of Judges.
If you feel desparing, or downright scared, about our current cultural climate, you would do well skim through the book of Judges. The book of Judges is one of the most disturbing narratives in Scripture, recording of some of most disturbing people who ever lived, who do some of the most disturbing things imaginable (This is probably why most churches avoid it). The world of judges is described repeatedly as one in which, “Everyone did what was right in their own eyes.” This is not only true for the enemies surrounding God’s people; it is true for God’s people themselves. 
Making decisions can be hard, especially when things are not black and white. Decisions in the gray often generate deeps feelings of ambivalence where two options appear equally positive and negative.
Our current pandemic has created a very gray environment. Not only has number of decisions we have to make been exponentially increased, the process of decision-making has been exponentially complicated. All people, be it pastors, parents, or parishioners, are trying to make the best decisions they can with limited or incomplete information. Decision making is hard in itself, decision-making in the gray is even harder. 
In recent weeks, I have had more than one conversation about how this COVID-19 pandemic is negatively impacting the church. Every new restrictions brings two new conspiracies and three new opinions. Sides are being chosen, teams are being made, post are being "liked" and people are being "unfriended."
Even if we have not been exposed TO Covid-19, we have all be exposed BY it. As time goes on, who we truly are and what we truly believe is being revealed. All suffering and trials do this. Paul Tripp in his book, Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands rightly notes:
"We don't radically change in a moment of trial. No, trials expose what we've always been. Trials bare things which we otherwise would have been blind to."