| You've Got This! - article by Joel Hempel
Well, I may not, but there is ONE who does. What concerns you? What interferes with your peace of mind? The next presidential election? Mean-spirited divisions in our country? Violence as a way to solve problems? We’ve got this? It doesn’t feel like it! What is making your personal life difficult? Most of us are exceedingly reserved when it comes to fessing up to our problems. How are you doing? Fine! Really? I doubt that “fine” is a true description of what is going on with most of us. But that’s the game face we put forward. “Don’t let them see you sweat” is a phrase that is often used when facing a competitor. But we are not competitors. We are brothers and sisters in Christ. There are people in our church – and every other church – who are in the middle of relationship struggles, suffering from depression and other severe mental and physical diseases, managing chronic pain, feeling overwhelmed, and experiencing spiritual anguish that leads some among us to question God’s love and wisdom. Since much of what affects us in our personal and national lives is out of our control, what exactly can we rely on? Does God “got it”? Yes and no! Because there is plenty of biblical evidence that bad things happen to good people, Christian people included, we can safely conclude that God is no Superman who swoops down and makes all bad things disappear. All two-year-old and younger boys were murdered by paranoid and evil King Herod (Matthew 2:16-18); Peter had to live with his painful thorn (2 Corinthians 12:7-9); many disabled people were not healed by Jesus (John 5:2-9); and another evil king beheaded our Lord’s nephew (Mark 6:18-29). What, then, does God got? A lot! Scripture assures us: - What is impossible for us to manage is not impossible for God (see Job 42:1-2; Mark 10:27).
- We also know God can turn evil into good (see Genesis 50:15-20).
- When Jesus saw a woman caught in adultery about to be stoned, he didn’t say, “Don’t worry, God’s got this,” and then walk away. Instead, he intervened (see John 8:3-11). He acted – modeling for us what we need to do when we see an opportunity to confront evil.
- We know – with absolute certainty – that whatever difficulty is challenging us, God IS at work within it, and his work WILL result in our blessing (see Romans 8:28).
Every Sunday, when we receive the Lord’s Supper, the officiating minister quotes Jesus when he consecrates the bread and wine: Do this in remembrance of me. What does Jesus want us to remember? In addition to remembering that he died on the cross for us and created the path of grace that leads to heaven, he also wants us to remember that he has not abandoned us and never will. I will be with you always. It was his final promise (see Matthew 28:19-20; John 14:15-17, 25-27). Remember! PS: At our last deacons meeting, one of the deacons said, I can’t help but believe people would be much more relieved and experience far greater healing if they/we were more open and forthcoming with each other when we are struggling. I agree! | 
