I can’t remember when so many of my friends and family members have experienced so many trials and tribulations. As I write this, friends of ours were on a trip of a lifetime in Australia when the whole COVID-19 pandemic occurred. They were scheduled to go to New Zealand, but that got canceled. Then they had to quarantine for 14 days in Australia. They tried for days to secure a flight back to the States and when they finally did, It took them days to get home. When they got home, their furnace failed and had to be replaced; someone bashed in their gate; and finally, the wife’s father became deathly ill. So, she drove to his hometown and spent two weeks with him before he died. That’s a lot to deal with in such a short time span!
Scripture reminds us that in the last days the intensity of our pain and suffering will increase (2 Timothy 3:1). And so, it is. Things can look bleak. I’m sure glad we have the presence of the Holy Spirit and God’s written Word to comfort us.
I heard the following poem preached at New Heights Church in Vancouver, Washington and is a beautiful reminder of our true reality. May it encourage you:
God, I may fall flat on my face;
I may fail until I feel old and beaten and done in.
Yet, Your love for me is changeless.
All the music may go out of my life,
My private world may shatter to dust.
No turn in the affairs of my fractured life can baffle You.
Satan with all his braggadocio cannot distract You.
Nothing can separate me from Your measureless love –
Pain can’t, disappointment can’t, anguish can’t.
Yesterday, today, tomorrow can’t.
The loss of my dearest love can’t.
Death can’t. Life can’t.
Riots, war, insanity, loss of identity, hunger, neurosis, disease –
None of these things nor all of them heaped together
Can budge the fact that I am dearly loved,
Completely forgiven, and forever free through Jesus Christ Your beloved Son.
While the winds of destruction and despair blow all around us, let us keep our eyes fixed on our One true hope, our Deliverer—the One who will never leave us: Jesus Christ.
Scripture Reading: Romans 8:31-39
Personal Application: Consciously walk with Jesus every day. Talk with Him frequently. Read His Word. Fellowship with other followers of Christ and find comfort and encouragement from each other.
Wendell Morton and Jim Grassi, D. Min.
We cherish any verse in Scripture that reminds us to keep focused and intentional about evangelism and discipleship. “But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.” 2 Timothy 4:5