Different

Our World is different. I don’t have to tell you that. You can see, hear, feel, how different things are. A lot of difference is visual. Empty shelves in the grocery store, restaurants closed, banks shut down, schools turning students away, are unfamiliar to us. People wearing masks reminds me of journeys to visit other countries around the World and seeing such as if it were ordinary. The streets and byways, the trails through the park, the walking tour of America’s history, and so many other once familiar joys, are different, no longer as inviting as in times now past. There is palpable fear in the air, and it can be clearly seen and heard in the eyes and voices of those around us. It’s hard to find a peacefulness in our mind, and for so many, that “peace which surpasses understanding,”  deep within our innermost being, brought by the Spirit of God, is nowhere to be found. (see Philippians 4:7)

I hear talk of the “new normal,” and I am saddened. It is not because “change” is a stranger in my life or yours. But this is unusual, unfamiliar, unwanted, and unconscionable. The air is filled with “prophecies,” many of which seem detached from the Truth, conflicting with one another, bringing distress and discouragement into the ranks of Believers. Have we lost our focus on the grace, sufficiency, and infinite llove of our Father? I want, sometimes, to gather my family, my friends, my brothers and sisters in Christ and tell them that there is nothing to fear, nothing to destroy that which our Father deems good, and nothing that can separate us from His omnipotent power, amazing grace, and endless llove.

The little Church where I attend is concerned that we will have to “close our doors” again; that place where we gather to share our faith, llove, joy, and peace. The environment where we comfort one another, encourage one another, and share the journey toward Spiritual maturity, seems on the edge of extinction.

Hope lives on. The sky is gray, but far from dark. Deep within our innermost being there is a light that cannot be extinguished. We cannot be defeated. We will not fall to the Enemy. Somewhere on the horizon is victory, real and perfect. It is ours by the promise of God who spoke the Cosmos into existence. . .and will move it to a final end as we know it. Oh, the joy of knowing we are HIS!  He is Lord of all, and we are HIS!