Are you Offended?

Easily offended raise your hands.

I had something happen today that has left me completely unsettled.  I have never had this happen before so I can only pray about it and get through it.  I went to church this morning as I do almost every Sunday.  I was scheduled to work Fusion patrol for the first service.  I arrived without any significant problems.  I walked into the lobby and felt out of place.  Immediately I was sad and asked myself why I was there?  I am not a critical servant in the church heirarchy.  Things will go on if I don’t show up, as a matter of fact I could have arrived today as an invisible individual and would have felt much the same as I did anyway. 

I sat down towards the front of the church because I was a little late getting into service and so the most seats available were in the front with the youth.  That was all ok I like our kids.  As worship came to a close and Dave started talking, it took every fiber of my being to stay seated.  An overwhelming feeling of sadness and doubt filled me and I just wanted to get up and run.  I had to talk myself into staying there.  I had to pray myself through this whole service just to make it to the end.  I left church after being chastised for a mix up in the Nucleus and didn’t even say see ya.  Satan’s lies were strong today.The voices in my head were saying “just walk out and don’t come back.  Cancel all obligations to Fusion and the youth group and don’t come back.  They won’t miss you who cares.  This church is not any different than the rest you have been to and left. You don’t matter.” Did people at church realize it?  No probably not , but I was easily offended.  I am not usually easily offended.    I have never felt so defeated.   I have never left without being inspired, I have never spent a Sunday in church feeling like I was being attacked by Satan and his minions.  I did today.

So my question I guess ,in this ever growing church community,  is do we really matter?  I love God and want to serve God.  I want God’s will to be clear to me and I want to have the strength to follow His will no matter what that means for me and my family.  I want to do the work that God has planned for me.  I want to make a difference for all the lost souls that matter.  I want people to know God.  As this walk heads into an uphill hike I know I must keep my faith and continue in His will.  I also realize that we (I) will be attacked and troubled more because Satan is trying everything in His arsenal to throw at us and keep us from Victory. I happen to know that as of late this is one of His favorite tactics with people at our church.

So the answer to the question is yes, everybody matters in this war, and the souls we save are the most important thing.  This is about God and not about me.  So if you ever have had a day like this and feel like you are not important and people are leaving you out, if you feel offended tell yourself, as I am telling myself,  Satan does not want us to win and will do anything to hold us back.  People matter and God’s plan for you matters so keep the faith and pray!