1-15-2017

 Good Morning All,

         2 Chronicles 20:15; “Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s”. 

    Don’t you just dread some of those days.  You know “those days”.  You get up and the alarm went off at the wrong time, you go outside and there is a flat tire on the car or you go out the door and a cow is staring back at you (and not supposed to).  Your kids tell you that the car they drive makes a funny sound and you see there is no oil in the engine.  You know “those types of days”.  Sometimes it just can get almost comical; you almost wonder what can go wrong next.

     Sometimes those days are not funny; they are downright painful.  We look out and see a great horde of pain coming our way.  Think of the folks where the hurricane struck this past week and now they get snow and wind; no electricity or water or a warm place to stay.  I would call that a horde of trouble.  Sometimes the troubles build but strike all at once.  Maybe you are caught between two feuding relatives and you are expected to pick sides.

    Maybe your spouse is less attentive, maybe your job is less secure, maybe your health is not as good as it used to be.  One at a time, we could deal with them but when they come as a great horde, all at once, it is overwhelming.  We can be swept away easily when the great horde strikes.

    The devil loves to use great hordes.  He loves it when we feel weak and deflated.  Our resistance is down and we are very susceptible to doubt.  We are very susceptible to hearing the question, “did God really say?”  That question that the devil asked Eve to create doubt instead of faith to create questioning instead of trusting God.  The devil always wants you to look out and see that great horde on the horizon.  The devil will always tell you look at all the things that could go wrong, look at all the trouble that could happen to you.

    But God quietly tells us to relax.  Don’t let the worries about tomorrow get you down.  I’ll take care of tomorrow just as I’ll take care of today.  The fight with the devil and his horde belongs to God and not to you.  You can look out and worry but you don’t need to.  God’s grace will keep us safe.  The ill winds of this world will still blow but we need not fear or worry.  God has promised to be with us and to lead us through it.  We will face the great horde but we don’t face it alone and we don’t face it on its terms.  We face it in God’s care and in his comfort and support.  The battle is his and he won it on Calvary.  He declared it with the open tomb and he delivers it to you and me through Baptisms. 

     We receive God’s blessing for this life according to his mercy.  The battle he fought for us is won.  We need not fear the great horde; God has destroyed it.  We live by his grace.

Gracious Lord, you have defeated the horde which comes to destroy us.  Yet we still look on it with fear.  Give us the strength to face our fears and realize that they are not the victors but are the vanquished.  They exist so that our faith may grow and your light may shine.  In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.      

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret