June 5, 2025 Devo

June 5th, 2025

Walking Through the Psalms
“It is not an enemy who taunts me—I could bear that. It is not my foes who so arrogantly insult me—I could have hidden from them. Instead, it is you—my equal, my companion and close friend. What good fellowship we once enjoyed as we walked together to the house of God.” – Psalm 55:12-14 (NLT)
“When Church People Hurt You”

Not long ago, someone told me about getting hurt at a church that they had attended. Someone had been rude to them and hurt their feelings, so they left. After checking out a few other churches that didn’t measure up, they decided to just stay home and watch services online. It’s a story that I hear quite frequently.
I’m always sad and a bit surprised when I hear stories like this. I’m sad because we weren’t meant to live in isolation. We were created for community—even when that community is a group of people who are sometimes as difficult to get along with as ourselves. When we forfeit being in church, we forfeit the joy of gathering with the many to get away from the challenging few. That’s a pretty bad trade-off.
Not only do we miss the blessings when we isolate, but we miss BEING a blessing! God didn’t just create the church for people to minister to YOU, He also created the church for you to minister to OTHERS! Have you ever thought about that? Please don’t rob the many whom God wants to touch, encourage, and pray for through you, because of a couple of insensitive church folks.
Let me point out something from David’s words to us today. David was CRUSHED by something one of his fellow worshippers did to him. He doesn’t give details, but it sounds like something serious, perhaps even life-threatening. David was hurt, stunned, and grieving. But did you notice what David DIDN’T say? He didn’t say, “Well, I’m never going back to THAT temple again!” His problem was with the PERSON, not God and His collective people. I think we might all do well to take that same approach.
Please hear my heart. I’m not excusing the harsh and hurtful things that people say or do in our churches. People can be downright ugly sometimes. Trust me, after 40+ years as a pastor, I’ve got the scars to prove it. But I refuse to let the ugliness of the few rob me of the beauty of the many. And I refuse to let the rejection or betrayal of the few keep me from allowing God to use me to minister to the many. Like I told our people recently, there are no perfect churches. There’s only a Perfect God. And He deserves to be worshipped by His Church, the sheep of His Pasture. Even when there are a few cranky old goats in the crowd. That’s God’s Word for you today.