Matthew Costner

Last week was such a great week in my life. Besides my salvation experience, it was the best thing that has ever happened to me – I married the woman of my dreams. As confident as she was in marrying me, we had tons of conversations about what being a pastor’s life is and would be like. I’ve never been a pastor’s wife, but I had seen what life was like for my mom at times and had heard many other horrible stories from friends.

Of course, I didn’t want to scare her away, but I was honest with her. I remember saying, “being a pastor’s wife is going to be hard. People will expect a lot out of ridiculous things out of you; talk bad about you; lie about you; not be their true self around you… but all I want you to do is be there for me and support me. You don’t have to do anything in the church you don’t want to do.”

This morning I have shed a lot of tears over that very conversation, but not because of how the church I serve God in treats Alyson. The people at Valley View love and treat Alyson great. They haven’t expected too much of her that I can tell and even went above and beyond giving us a wedding shower after we had only be there 2 months.

But the fact of the matter is that there are a lot of “frenemies” (friends yet enemies) out there – or maybe I should say haters. It blows my mind that some people (mainly Christians) argue, fight, and backbite over the Lord working in other’s Christian’s lives. It almost seems that many Christians don’t want any other Christian to experience joy. How soon we seem to forget that we Christians are all in this together.

But jealousy and coveting is alive in many people’s lives. I have to admit that I have been jealous and coveted other Christians in the past too because of their successful ministries. I’m sure I have even said less than appropriate things about what those individuals had done and were doing. But how silly and immature of me, and how silly and immature it is for anyone else who does that. When we backstab and talk about other Christians, we in effect are saying “God is not Lord so I must take all matters of life in my own hands.”

I also have to admit that the reason I have even thought of any of this is because I read Anne Jackson’s blog this morning. I don’t know her but she seems to be someone truly anointed by God and who trusts God enough to walk in humility and meekness. She reminded me how the enemy can use many awesome and amazingly talented people of God to cause dissention among the body of Christ. I knew this though. Earlier this year, I was the recipient of such a horrible escapade. The enemy used someone in my life to cause me much hardship and heartache. 

But God was, is, and will be in the future, faithful. I sit here in awe and amazement at how God walked with me during that time and brought people in my life to encourage me to continue leaning in on God’s promises. What I walked away with, was the knowledge and understanding that when things are great, Jesus is Lord. When things are bad, Jesus is Lord. When we are broke, Jesus is Lord. When we don’t understand what is going on, Jesus is Lord. With us or without us, Jesus is Lord.

I’m so glad that Jesus is Lord. It turns my worrying into rejoicing. It frees me to deal with the things God has called me to, and not worry about the things others may be saying, doing, or not doing. Therefore, “As for me and my house we will serve the Lord” because His word is the last word.