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: Jesus
It’s nice over summer to have a few less balls in the air… To slow down and smell the roses. We went hiking down at Kosciusko National Park last week, so it was more like slow down and get bitten by the March flies, but anyway, that’s another story!
January is traditionally a time to reflect on the year that’s been and prepare for the year to come. It’s a time to reconsider our commitments to our workplaces, sporting teams and social clubs, Church ministries and Bible Study groups. These commitments that we make often lock us into and out of certain things. We don’t always realise that saying yes to one thing, means saying no to another. Saying yes to Sunday morning sport, means saying no to Sunday morning Church, and saying yes to teaching scripture means saying no to working an extra shift at McDonalds.
It’s important at this time of year to step back and reflect on the big picture and make some decisions about what our yes’s and no’s will be this year. To be careful to not overcommit ourselves and get a good balance between work and family, Church and community.
But balance is the wrong word. We live all of our lives for Jesus: ‘Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him’ (Col 3:17). The question isn’t have I got enough ‘Church’ stuff to go alongside my ‘other’ stuff, but does everything I do and commit to this year bring glory to Jesus?
