2:27 – It’s OK to Not Be Ok

#faithbites #faithjourney ok

A couple of weeks ago when I was dealing with the realization that I wouldn’t graduate, my eldest came to me and said “Daddy, are you ok?”. I told her “No, I wasn’t ok.” I explained the reason and she said it will be ok. Too often we are afraid to tell someone that we are not ok.

Today was an exhausting day of worship, voting, and reflection. We had our normal worship service where we talked about us all being part of the body of Christ. As one body, we should divide our burdens. One person shouldn’t have them alone. As one body, we should multiply our celebrations. When one person succeeds, we all succeed. The problem comes when our brokenness and sin stop us from asking for help or from really saying “I’m Not Ok”.

Our Voter’s Meeting was to call a Senior Pastor. I won’t go into the details as all the notifications haven’t been made yet. I will say that I saw so much passion on behalf of the slate of candidates. There were benefits of both men raised and both would be ideal. Through the process, there was some debate about age, longevity, experience, and who would be best for our congregation in the future. The interesting thing is a call is just an offer, it isn’t a for sure that someone will take the position. From my position, I saw the group trying to divide the burden of making this decision by active listening and responding. What happened at the end shocked and enthused me. After the voting was done, there was a motion to have a unanimous vote to extend a call to the person selected. This showed us multiply our celebrations and acting as one body in Christ.

Scripture

• But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it,  so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.  If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. – 1 Corinthians 12:24 – 26
• Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. – Galatians 6:2
• I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the power of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them. They will share the burden of the people with you so that you will not have to carry it alone. – Numbers 11:17

Reflection

It’s OK to not be OK. It’s OK to say I need help. It is definitely OK to offer help. When one of us succeeds we all succeed. When one of us is in pain, suffering, or down, we are all in pain, suffering and down. The problem is when we try to do it all ourselves, or think that someone else’s problem is their problem. Then we are not acting as one body of Christ.

No matter how hard our life is, we are made to share it.

I hope that I will always be comfortable telling someone that I am not ok when I am not. I hope others will confide in me when they are not ok.

Charge

Actions speak louder than words. Reach out to share someone’s burden. Offer congratulations and share in someone’s celebrations. To be a little cheesy, remember what T.E.A.M. stands for: Together Everyone Achieves More.

Prayer

Heavenly father. Thank you for making us all one body to share in our burdens and our celebrations. Today was a hard day for our church. Let us know that we made the correct choice and followed your path. Let us heal, let us share our burdens. Give us the strength to always look to you for our guidance and to know that we are all part of one body of Christ. Amen