Dear Friends,
If you serve as a church administrator or leader, you will know what it's like to hold many moving parts together. You plan, organise, support, and care for others, often in the background and often under pressure. You pour your energy into making ministry possible, yet sometimes it feels as though your work goes unseen, or that things simply do not go as you hoped. At our recent UCAN webinar, we reflected on what it means to trust God in these moments, when His ways do not make sense and His timing feels beyond our understanding.
The prophet Isaiah records God saying:
"My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."
So often, life feels confusing. We ask: Why do good people suffer? Why do our plans collapse? Why does it seem like others get ahead, even when we've been faithful? And into those questions, God whispers: My ways are higher. My perspective is greater. I see the whole picture when you only see a piece.
But here's the comfort we sometimes miss. God not only sees the big picture, He sees you. He sees your tears, your struggles, your prayers, even the parts of your life you think nobody notices. Psalm 139 says, "You hem me in, behind and before … you are familiar with all my ways." We are never unseen.
Think about Joseph. Betrayed by his brothers, sold into slavery, wrongly imprisoned. It must have felt like one disaster after another. Surely he must have wondered, "God, have You forgotten me?"
But God hadn't. In the pit and in the prison, Joseph was seen. Years later, standing as second-in-command in Egypt, Joseph could finally say to his brothers:
"You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to save many lives."
Even when Joseph couldn't see what God was doing, God saw Joseph.
Jesus told a story that makes the same point. The prodigal son comes home, and the father runs to embrace him. But the older brother cannot accept it. "It's not fair," he complains. And by human logic, he was right.
But God's ways are not our ways. The father shows us God's heart, overflowing grace, undeserved forgiveness, love that restores. And here's the reassurance: the father didn't just see the younger son coming home, he also saw the older son standing outside. He went out to him too. God sees both. He sees the struggler and the resentful. He sees you.
Sometimes we're like Joseph, not understanding what God is doing in our lives. Sometimes we're like the older brother, struggling with what God is doing in someone else's life. Either way, the invitation is the same: trust Him.
Corrie Ten Boom once told a story from her childhood. She asked her father about something frightening. Instead of explaining, he said, "Corrie, when we take a train journey, when do I give you your ticket?" She answered, "Just before we get on the train."
"That's right," he said. "And your heavenly Father knows when you will need the strength to face difficulties. He will give you what you need, when you need it, not before."
That's why Proverbs 3:5–6 tells us:
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."
We don't need to have every answer or carry the weight of understanding. Our calling is simply this: To trust the One whose ways are higher, who sees us, knows us, and walks with us every step of the way.
God is first and foremost committed to His purposes, not ours. He loves us enough to trust us with His work, and He loves us as an affectionate father loves his children and plans the best outcome for them. But we are not the point of the story. However much we want to be seen or rewarded for our efforts to see His kingdom come and His will be done, the wages are not the point, and neither are the labour conditions, because there is no scarcity or exploitation in God's Kingdom.
Everything we need to live an abundant life we already have in Him. When we give our lives to the Lord, we gain access to supernatural heavenly resources. The work is easy and the burden is light (Matthew 11:30). Whether we've lived for God all our lives or we're late to the party, the same abundance is freely available and freely given.
So here's the bottom line: We don't need to understand everything, just trust the One who understands everything, and who sees us in the middle of it all.
And here's the call to action: This week, take one situation that doesn't make sense to you. Instead of trying to control it, pray over it and place it into God's hands. Choose trust over understanding, knowing that you are seen, held, and loved.
Let's not stand outside the celebration like the older brother, but step into the joy of God's higher ways.
You may like to pray these words as you reflect.
"Lord, Your ways are higher than ours, and Your wisdom greater than our understanding. Thank You that You see us when we feel forgotten, You hold us when life feels heavy, and You guide us when the way ahead seems unclear. Help us to trust You like Joseph, rejoice with others like the father, and rest in Your grace. Amen."
As you continue to serve faithfully in your role, remember that God sees you in the details of your spreadsheets, your phone calls, your planning meetings, and your quiet moments of prayer. He sees when you carry others' burdens, when you stay late to get things ready, and when you quietly hold things together. You are not unseen, and your work is not unnoticed. Even when you can't see what He is doing, He sees you completely and His ways, always, are higher.
With every blessing,
Penny Clarke
Director, UK Church Administrators Network