Dear Brothers & Sisters in Christ!

Life at times can feel like working on an old computer. You double click to open and file and all you get is that little, round, spinning circle. You sit there, staring at the little spinning circle waiting.

And you wait!
And you wait!
And you wait some more,
wondering, will this file ever open so I can get some work done?

            And then, voilà, there it is! The document you have been soooo patiently waiting for appears!

            Right now, it may seem like we, as a congregation, are staring at the computer screen, watching that little spinning circle, waiting.

And we wait!
And we wait!
And we wait some more for God to reveal to us the man
He has in mind to serve as our next Associate Pastor.

            And while we had hoped that receiving a candidate from the Seminary would be that voilà moment … it wasn’t. And while we all may be a little disappointed and deflated, we know from Scripture that we are not alone. We are by no means the only ones who have had to wait for God to reveal His plan.

            From the time Noah and his family boarded the ark to when they disembarked was just over a year. The Israelites walking through the wilderness waited 40 years before God allowed them to enter the Promised Land. The Israelites in Babylonian captivity waited 70 years for God to release them and take back possession of the land they were taken from. And if we think that is bad, what about the time between Adam and Eve being rightly barred from the Garden of Eden to the coming of the promised offspring who would crush Satan’s head? That was about 4,000 years.

            And yes, I get that those are some rather extreme examples. But when you’re sitting there, staring at and waiting for the little spinning circle to quit spinning … it may easily feel like it has been that long, it may easily feel like you’ve been waiting for an eternity.

            In the midst of waiting, it’s also easy to get discouraged and deflated. When will God answer our prayers, our pleas for help? Just like you … I wish I knew. But I don’t, you don’t, we don’t know what God’s timeline looks like.

            And while it may feel like forever and it may be easy to get discouraged staring at that little spinning circle … there is good news that can be found in that spinning circle.

            That spinning circle means that your computer is working. For us as a congregation, that spinning circle of the coming Associate Pastor tells us that God is still working and that He hasn’t abandoned us.

            Just as God was with Noah and his family on the ark, just as God was with the Israelites in the wilderness and in Babylon, just as God with His people to the coming of Jesus … God is still with us today. Numerous places in the Bible, in the New Testament, we have God’s promise that He will never leave us nor forsake us. We have God’s promises that He will never abandon us.

            So instead of idly sitting back, being discouraged and deflated, staring and waiting for that little spinning circle to stop spinning so we have our voilà moment … we continue on. We continue on the path which God has laid before us. We continue on following and living out His Word, which is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. We continue sharing the love of Jesus with those among us and around us. We continue being Salem Lutheran Church, a place where friends become family, a place where we live as the hands, feet, and mouth of Jesus.

            In God’s perfect timing, He will grant to us the perfect man to serve here as our next Associate Pastor. As we wait, we trust, we serve others, and we lean on the everlasting arms of our Savior. Please do not give up praying or give up hope. Continue to keep your eyes fixed on the author and perfector of our faith, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who is our Immanuel, our God who is with us!

            In Christ,

Pastor Mike