God's Agenda . . . Facing the Winter Seasons of Life

Tucked away in a quiet corner of Scripture is a verse that brims with meaning and emotion. Read with reflection these ancient words from the pen of Job:

“From the city men groan,
And the souls of the wounded cry out”
- Job 24:12

Slip into the scene of this verse for just a moment: Beneath the loud splash of bustle and activity in our cities, there are invisible, wounded, broken hearts - souls aching from shattered relationships, illness, death, financial despair, crushed hopes, unforeseen disaster, the list goes on and on.... Job calls them groans. In Hebrew, the word suggests that this groan comes from one who has been wounded. Perhaps this is why Job adds the next poetic line: The souls of the wounded cry out. In this line, “wounded” comes from a term meaning pierced as if stabbed. But it is the soul that is crying out, for the deep hidden lacerations of the heart can be far more painful than a physical stabbing. Does this describe you today? To be sure it defines Crane Community Chapel as a church body.

In a very real sense, 2005 has been a winter season for Crane Chapel. Winter speaks of barrenness: Icy shadows. Naked branches. Short days. Long nights. It is an ideal time to slow down in quiet reverence and remember that

“God is in the heavens;
He does whatever He pleases.”
- Psalm 115:3

If we’ve learned anything in 2005, it is that our lives here on earth are indeed God’s agenda. Not our own. There were no designs in January of 2005 for Crane Chapel to flatten an arson-destroyed church building. There were no plans that included blueprints for a 1.3 Million dollar building project. And there were no guidelines for a pastoral search committee. But God is still working. His blessings and His agenda become more evident with every step we take. When the despair of this winter season has past, we will be wiser, stronger, and deeper in love with Jesus.

Crane Chapel stands at a crossroads this New Year. We can look backward or forward. The backward glimpse is devastating. It hurts. Unexpected circumstances occupied and dominated a great part of 2005. The good news is that God’s Word holds answers. The book of Job brings light and understanding to the perplexities and heartaches of life. Together, as a congregation, we are going to begin this New Year with a sermon series in this great book of the Bible. Together, we will discover Scriptural principles to direct and sustain us in the winter seasons of life.

Is it winter right now in this season of your life? Are you weighed down with feelings of confusion, depression, and loneliness? Do you feel forsaken, spiritually on hold, barren, cold? No question – our lives here on earth will always include winter. But, beyond the thick gray clouds of winter…is God! His agenda is miraculously greater than ours. And some days His Light just makes everything beautiful and shiny! Let this study in Job be a blessing and a source of comfort, as we look Forward in 2006!

- Pastor Mark & Esthermay Bentley Goossen