“Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples. For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord” (Psalm 117, TNIV).
Have you noticed how frequently God’s faithfulness and unfailing love are extolled in the psalms? Even though the psalmists were sometimes in dire straits, they consistently proclaimed God’s faithfulness. Sometimes, this is done in praise songs, amid other joyous claims. Other times, it is done in the middle of struggles, as a shout saying: “I know you are faithful, God, please help me!” Both feelings should be familiar to those who long for biblical equality in their churches and denominations.
Sometimes there is progress, and we are full of praise, and sometimes, nothing seems to move. We see the smile and relief of a friend who discovers that God truly honors her gifts, or we witness a decision made in a church to accept women deacons. Other times we hear one of “those” sermons or read in our denominational journal another article about women’s submission. Denominations and people usually change slowly. And those who advance biblical equality may sometimes feel discouraged, believing they achieve little result. Yet God is at work. We can rest assured that God’s word doesn’t come back to him without effect (Isa. 55:11).
God could change any church in the snap of the fingers. And, thank God, this happens sometimes. But he also works to bring hearts and minds to his truths, and that can take more time. Sociologists tell us that it takes three generations for a change to be accepted as “natural”. So in times of transition, women may be well accepted in some places and less accepted in others within the same denomination. Even after a denomination has accepted women as deacons, elders, pastors, or bishops, they often start at the bottom of the totem pole and recognition may be slow. Yet again, God is faithful and gets his word to pass.
May we pray to be simply witnesses of God’s giftedness in those churches, centering on his objectives of growing and nurturing his body, even when we are frustrated by some setback or neglect. In either case, as we pray, work, and witness in our denominations, let us remember God’s unfailing love and faithfulness. Let us praise him when we see a mind opening, a progress made in the right direction, a decision to open some role to women along with men. And let us remember these qualities of God when we struggle, knowing that he is at work even if we don’t see it from where we are at that moment.
