Yesterday marked 2 years since the Picton flood, which devastated many peoples homes and a majority of Picton businesses.
For the first few months after the flood I was nervous about any rainfall. Now, I find myself rejoicing at a mere sprinkle, and dancing in the streets (metaphorically) for a genuine downpour to drench our parched land.
As we continue to read through Luke chapter 8 this week in Church, we encounter scenarios that are out of our control: a wild storm swamping the boat, an encounter with an out of control demon possessed man, a Father whose daughter is dying and a woman with permanent bleeding. This is life.
Life in this broken world is full of scenarios that are out of our control, of suffering and pain alongside the joys and successes of life. In the midst of the crisis we can be driven to despair by the helplessness of our situation, or to anger and frustration at God for allowing it to be so.
But we see in Luke 8 that Jesus has power and control over every situation we might encounter. We can have confidence that he understands and sympathises with our trials and our suffering. We can also have confidence that he has power to overcome those situations or to give us strength to endure them, as the case may be.
I’m thankful to God for the resilience and resourcefulness of our Church congregations in facing this and other challenges together. It’s a great blessing to be able to look to Christ for strength and to support one another as family in the midst of the joys and trials of life.
Let’s pray for a continuation of this rain (but not too much)…
Tag: assurance
We live in a confused and unstable world. We’re not sure whether a gorilla or a 4 year old boy is more important to protect. A fluctuating economy and market conditions send 350 local workers out of a job and their families into insecurity. And Queensland dominate in State of Origin Football (Ok so this last one kind of doesn’t matter).
Thank God for Christ who ‘suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous to bring you to God’ (1 Peter 3:18). Jesus has won for us assurance and stability – knowing that we are loved by God and precious to him, we can weather any storm that might come our way.
