How do we experience God in times of turmoil?
Our church is facing some difficult decisions today and next Sunday, and it is certainly a time of turmoil. Turmoil hits us in our personal lives, our working lives, our retired lives, and in our community lives. It is a reminder that we do not live in a perfect world, and that sometimes things do not go our way.
Turmoil reminds us that there are times where decisions are not always moral (right and wrong), but are sometimes ethical (the lesser of two evils or the greater of two goods). Turmoil keeps us up at night, and can begin to give us tunnel vision, and whatever is bringing us turmoil crowds out all of our other thoughts.
That is why it is important to ask the question, “How do we experience God in times of turmoil.” Experiencing God when our minds are preoccupied can be difficult, but it is absolutely critical, because a God moment can sometimes give us a new perspective on our issues, and help us to break through to a new thought than what we were fixated on.
But God moments in times of turmoil also remind us that as much as our issue might feel all-consuming, there are still other things taking place in the world. Experiencing God in the midst of our turmoil reminds us that God’s Kingdom reigns, regardless of what we are facing, and regardless of its outcome.
And perhaps most importantly, a God experience helps us to think outside of ourselves, and see a bigger picture than we could imagine. That is why I hope that, while we walk through our communication meeting and church conference today and next Sunday, that we can remind ourselves to worship, and to see and look for God’s presence in our worship, instead of planning what we are going to say after worship.
Blessings, Sonny