THE SHEPHERD’S CORNER

In our Bible Study Fellowship last week Santy said something that really blessed me. She said, we all wish to have a smooth, problem-free life. But, the persons God uses are not those whose lives are smooth, but rather those who are strong. And, they become strong because of the hard and winding road they must travel.

I must admit that I was one of those guys who wished that my life would be as straight as an arrow. I tried to do everything by the book hoping the outcome would turn out to be as planned. But, the past few years have shattered this incorrect notion of life that I held on. I learned the outcome can be very different.

There is something else I have learned: By faith I must thank God for whatever it is He brings into my life, albeit how unpleasant it is. Thanking Him is in order because what He gives me is good for me. There is something that He sees—which I don’t—that causes His concern. So, by faith I thank Him.

As a church we have been through a lot. A number of us have lost our loved ones and some have been struck by chronic illness. As we speak, our sister Devi is still in the hospital recuperating from brain hemorrhage. And, some are facing uncertainty in various forms.

Like a ship, we have been battered, but we have not been beaten. We may not be able to walk and may have to crawl, but, crawl we do! We hold on to faith—that God is not only all-powerful that everything is in His hands, but that He is also all-good, that He is allowing everything to happen for our own good. So, hold on to faith and by faith, thank Him, because, “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.” (Isaiah 7:9)

Pastor Paul