For pastors in the Florida annual conference, we were at annual conference June 8th through the 10th. Annual conferences are the business meeting of the church. They are not usually fun…can be rather boring…and typically there is contention. Last year there was A LOT of contention during the clergy session. So, it is with trepidation that we attend…it is mandatory unless there is a compelling reason…and we endure.
It is not all bad as we are grateful for the times between sessions and during the breaks that we can catch up with other pastors and hear about the ministries they are doing and the struggles they might be going through. It is an opportunity to support one another.
This year’s annual conference was unlike any I have ever attended. It was rejuvenating. It was wonderful. It was fun. It was what every annual conference should be. It was also without any contention. In fact, it felt like God’s Holy Spirit came and sat with each of us as we listened, voted, sang, worshipped, learned, and were grateful. We were filled with hope for our denomination. The entire time was filled with hope for the future.
And not the type of hope that says we hope the weather will be good or that we hope we win the lottery…although that would be nice. The hope that filled us, was the same hope that Paul extended to the Christians in Rome. We find his words in Romans 15:13:
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Hope that is born out of our trust in God and in that hope, we will find joy and peace overflowing in our lives. Or as some translations of scripture put it: we will have “abounding hope.” I like that word abounding. One of the definitions of the word abound from dictionary.com is that we are rich in something. I like the idea of being rich in joy and peace because we are abounding in hope, don’t you? We could all use a little more joy and peace in life.
But here’s the thing: we can have exactly that. We just need to trust God. Because all this…all that we could ever need…comes flowing out of our trust in God. And that is not always easy to do. When we are hurting, we want the source of our pain to go away NOW…not sometime in the future. When we are lonely, when we are struggling, when we are in any situation that brings sadness, difficulties, heartache, troubles…we want those to be eradicated from our lives NOW. I know I certainly do.
The problem stems from the simple fact that we need to work through the difficulties, whatever they might be for any of us, and in working through them, in being patient, in trusting that God will do what is best for us…we will find hope shining through. But it all takes time because sometimes we need to learn the lessons the darkness in our life teaches us.
And I don’t know about you, but I don’t like the dark. I am writing this on the anniversary of my dad’s death. It has been a hard year. In addition to my dad not being here with us, my mom is struggling with vision problems. My brother and I are making some hard decisions. But in the long run they will be both good and beneficial to everyone…in the meantime we are working through so much stuff.
So, I cling to hope…not the sappy hope we bandy about every day, but the abiding hope that gives me joy and peace because I choose to place my trust in God who beyond all my doubts, and I have a few, loves me for who God created me to be and that is enough.
Peace,
Pastor Beth
BTW…It is ok to have doubts. They can push us toward a deeper and more authentic faith life. They are not a bad thing.
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