From the Pulpit: ‘One thing is certain in life: We will always have challenges to face’

One thing for sure, we are not the first and won’t be the last to face challenges in our lives. A pandemic, however, is quite an unusual event to experience. It has been stretching for all of us, whether dealing with the virus directly or indirectly by being faced with money challenges or adjusting to simple normal day-to-day routines. It’s tough losing your job or having your hours cut. It’s tough missing out on the end of the school year events or just missing out of different sporting events. One thing is certain in life – we will always have challenges to face.

At Living Springs Covenant Church in Brandon, we have recently started a sermon series on Joseph of Egypt. Think about what he had to deal with: a dysfunctional family, brothers who hated him and threatened his life, who then sold him into slavery, being falsely accused of a crime and then thrown into prison. Those are challenges most of us will never experience, but we all can relate, life can be tough.

The Apostle Paul knew what trouble in River City was like – he experienced a bunch of it. He shares his thoughts with the church in Corinth, in 2 Corinthians 6:4-5(NLT2) In everything we do, we show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind. We have been beaten, been put in prison, faced angry mobs, worked to exhaustion, endured sleepless nights, and gone without food.

The difference between Joseph, Paul and many others are that they had a close and growing relationship with the God of the universe, the Creator of all things. They had an up-close and personal relationship with a God who loved them.

When we face troubles and challenges, it’s good to know that we have friends and family who can back us up. It’s even better to know that the one true living God is there – supporting you and that He has said He will never leave us. Hebrews 13:5 (NIV2011) God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” These challenging times can give us the gift of perspective and a moment to consider the big picture. It can turn a very hard thing into something very good, something that can last forever.

My hope for all of us as we start to come through this time of the pandemic is that we’ll all take stock in our priorities and the importance of relationships, especially the most important relationship of all – a relationship with our Creator who will not only grant us eternal life through the redeeming work of Christ on the cross, but give us a new life that starts right now.