Life can be great can't it? We have all had times of overflowing joy or settled contentment or anticipation and excitement. Those are great. But to be honest most of life is "normal". A bit good and a bit disappointing! Some things going well others less so. Some things making us happy and others sad. And then there are times when life is really quite tough. Hopes dashed, feelings hurt, relationships painful.
All of this is also true of church life. There are times when church life can feel exciting, and a church as a whole can be full of joy, or have a settled contentment. But usually church life is "normal", and sometimes it is really quite tough. That can be true of individual's experience of church, and it can be true of our corporate experience of church.
For us as a church last year was really very exciting. Sending a missionary to France, appointing an assistant pastor, starting a new meeting. When new things are happening, and others are anticipated the whole feeling of church is really quite exciting and this usually permeates to most of the members. However when church is "normal" and there aren't a whole raft of exciting developments going on, when people let each other down, or life is individually tougher, the experience of church can be less invigorating, or even (dare I say it) a bit of a drag!
What then can we do when "normal" starts to slip in to tough? How should we respond?
First I would say keep doing what you know. Has church ever been a blessing? Have you ever found help in reading the Scriptures? Has God ever answered your prayers? You may not know what to do, but don't stop doing what you know. You may feel like God has left you on the shelf for a bit, still don't stop doing what you know. It is not without reason that God has blessed us with his written word, a word that is "living and active". It is not without reason that Jesus taught his disciples to "pray and never give up". And it is not without reason that God has called us not only to himself but into churches where we can strengthen and encourage one another, "growing up in maturity into Him who is the Head."
Second talk to people. If something in your life feels stuck, go chat with a Christian who loves you, whom you can trust (even a pastor). Give them permission to ask you questions you don't want to face. Be honest with them about where your life is at right now.
It may not be that your life feels stuck, but that church is stuck for you. Something isn't working, church isn't helping the way it was. Again chat to people, especially chat to church leaders so that they know. It is easy to go along as a church leader oblivious that all your hard work is not helping anyone, because it used to and no-one has told you that it doesn't any more! Stop your leaders running themselves into the ground for no good to the church! Be careful not to develop a critical spirit - that can kill a pastor as quick as poison. But don't suffer in silence. Believe it or not you are deeply ingrained in your pastor's heart. He will fall over himself to do all he can to bless you! So talk to your leaders especially about your struggles with church.
Third, and perhaps most critically, be thankful. Be deliberately thankful. Be deliberately thankful for everything good that you have. It is interesting how much in the New Testament letters thankfulness is flagged up. For instance Philippians 4v6-7 says; "6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
So often one or two individual things that are not going how we would like give everything in our lives a grey covering and take our joy out of what we used to love. Because this one thing hurts right now, everything else is undone by it. Conscious consistent thanksgiving reminds us that though somethings are hard right now, God is good. Every good and perfect gift comes down from above, and we do have so many of them. Ultimately we have Christ himself. Through faith we have the righteousness of God gifted to us through his death for us. We have his love, we are given his Spirit. We have a hope that cannot fade. So what ever is happening now, however "normal" or even painful it is, it is not worth comparing to what we have in Him.
However "normal" your life is right now, you have in Christ a constant source for thankfulness and praise!
