Pray and Persevere

Happy Memorial Weekend everyone!  We are so glad that you are able to join us for worship this morning.  Today I am going to share with you some of the updates of our building project and where we are headed from this point on.  We have just gotten our Conditional Use Permit (CUP) approved last Monday and it indeed was a monumental step for all of us.  It took about 6 months for us to get this permit.  But we have not only worked hard for the past 6 months but the past 6 years.  This project really started in late 2006 when we started to look for a permanent place for our Sunday gatherings.  We wanted to build then but God had a better plan, and His plan was for us to wait another 6 years while the price of the commercial buildings came down.

But we didn’t just passively wait during the past 6 years.  We prayed and we asked.  We prayed and we seek.  We prayed and we knocked on the door.  We worked hard to find an agent and an architect.  We worked hard to negotiate with the building owner.  We worked hard to communicate to the city about our plans.  Even though in the back of our mind we all knew that God was going to lead us, it wasn’t without its difficulties and challenges.  It took a lot of courage and a lot of perseverance for us to get to where we are today.

What do you do when you are faced with challenges?  Especially when you know the path you are on is God’s plan?  God doesn’t promise that just because you are on the right path it is always sunny.  But He does ask you to trust Him and depend on Him.  If you are going through a tough time in your life right now, how you react makes all the difference.  It is ok to doubt, but at the same time would you be willing to pray and persevere?