On Easter, I shared with the congregation I serve that I have what I jokingly call “pre-parcel anxiety.” It’s not a real diagnosis, but it does mean I find myself checking the front porch often. I listen for delivery trucks and want to be there the moment a package arrives
I’ve noticed I do something similar when guests are coming over. I don’t want to miss them. I want to be at the door, ready to welcome them when they arrive.
It has made me wonder: how often do we miss what God is delivering right in front of us?
In the midst of leading, serving, and caring for others, it is easy to become focused on what we expect God to do. We can also get overwhelmed by all that is in front of us. In doing so, we can miss the ways God is already at work in our lives, our churches, and our communities. Part of growing in faith and leadership is learning to recognize and respond to His activity among us.
In Philippians 3, Paul reframes what truly matters. After listing the credentials and accomplishments that others might value, he says he considers them all loss compared to knowing Christ. What he desires most is to be found in the righteousness that comes through faith.
He then gives this powerful expression of that desire: “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings” (Philippians 3:10).
These two realities, resurrection power and shared suffering, are central to our life and ministry.
We know the fellowship of His sufferings. As we walk with people through grief, uncertainty, and brokenness, we are regularly reminded that ministry brings us close to the pain of the world. Holy Week invites us to remember that Christ Himself entered fully into suffering, through betrayal, abandonment, and the cross. As we share in that reality, we are shaped more deeply into His likeness.
And we also live in the power of His resurrection. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is at work today. That power is bringing new life, restoring hope, and transforming hearts. This is not just a truth we proclaim at Easter, but a reality we are invited to expect and witness every day in our ministries.
Yet if we are not attentive, we can miss it.
What might it look like for us, as leaders and churches across our conference, to live with a renewed sense of anticipation? To watch for the ways God is moving? To be ready to recognize and receive what He is doing?
My prayer is that we would grow in both being deeply aware of the fellowship of His sufferings and joyfully expectant of the power of His resurrection. And that, together, we would not miss what God is delivering, but faithfully join Him in His work among us.
