Not to Fret ...

We can do all things through Christ.
When I came here, way too many years ago, that scripture from the book of Philippians was our mantra. We had so little; all we had was God. But I was convinced then, as I am convinced now, that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.
These are not “pie in the sky” words. They are, in fact, a statement of fact. When an individual has the faith that no matter how daunting the task, because he or she believes in the something “greater” than him or herself, all things are possible.
All things? All things that are within the will of God. It is God’s will that we pull through our current financial crisis, and because of that, if we hold onto the truth of the words Paul spoke to the Philippians, we will see God pull yet another miracle here.
What we cannot do is pull back on mission and ministry. We cannot hold our heads in our hands and wail with a sense of hopelessness. We can be frustrated; we can get angry or even anxious, but we cannot go into a tailspin of dismay. Our God is an awesome God- when times are good and easy and when times are not so good and difficult.
I saw a news story this week about a young girl who was in Haiti the day the earthquake hit. She was under literally tons of rubble; big pieces of what looked like a cement building covered her, but she was alive, and a young man heard her cry.
With his bare hands, he began pulling that rubble off her. I don’t know how long he dug, and the story did not indicate that he had any help. He dug, though, with his bare hands; he moved those big pieces of destroyed building with none but God, breathing into him, fueling him, releasing the adrenaline that was obviously being released …and he got her out.
She was alive but badly injured; one of her legs was badly mangled. She was flown back to the United States, and though she lived, she lost that leg.
How about it hasn’t stopped her? How about with one good leg and one prosthetic she is rock climbing in Arizona, and how about, with one good leg and one prosthetic, she is about to run a marathon?
She recently went back to Haiti, to see where she had been trapped and to see the young man who rescued her. She wanted to thank him and she wanted to say “good bye.” The young man who had dug literally tons of debris off a girl with his bare hands stood next to and embraced the young woman who lost her leg yet is rock climbing and is going to run a marathon.
Those kinds of stories fuel me, and it is those types of stories that I want you to think about and even seek out as we pass through this leg of our wilderness journey. If we do God’s work, God will provide for us; money follows mission. Our primary emotion in through here should not be desperation but rather determination to be steadfast and immovable, putting God first. God sees us; God hears us; God loves us.
The way we love God back is to proclaim that we can do all things through Christ …who does and who always has …strengthened us.
Have a good week!

Pastor Smith