Thought of the Day !!

For every child of God defeats this evil world by trusting Christ to give the victory. And the ones who win this battle against the world are the ones who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.
1 John 5:4-5

Have you ever felt like the world was getting you down? Over Thanksgiving I received news of one of my best friends death. This was the first time I've lost a friend to death. I also had a call from my church about a member's brother who was in ICU. Another member was going to be having surgery in Memphis on the following Monday, and I wouldn't be able to be there and the other three places I needed to be. And to top it all off, I received some very disturbing news about another one of my best friends.

It seemed as though everything was coming in on me at once. Each one of these things affected me in a unique way. These, along with the stresses of ordination preparation and other stuff going on in my life at the time, got me down. And I did feel for a while like the world was getting me down.

I remember thinking to myself, "Jesus, it would be nice for you to come back anytime now." Even though he has not come yet, in that thought lies the key to our success. We know that Jesus is coming back. We know that we won't have weeks like this popping up continuously forever. For we've placed our trust in Christ to redeem us and this world. We believe that even though we may not win every battle, that he has won the war. The only thing left is for him to come get us and take us home. That is what he did for my friend who passed away last week. And that is what he'll do for all of us who trust in him and believe him to be the Son of God.

Today is much better. Through prayer and some work on my part, I've gotten through all the news of last week. Now it's mostly just the ordination process and typical concerns over this week's sermons. But these are things I can handle. For I know God won't allow more to come on me that I can handle.

So the next time the world seems to be getting you down, look to the one who has won the final victory. He is your help. He is always there. And he will see you through.

In the love of Christ,
greg