12-23-2023

Good Morning All,

           Jeremiah 29:11; “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

   In 1915, a man by the name of Ernst Shackleton was going to attempt to be the first man to lead a party across the Antarctic continent via the pole.  It was about 1800 miles.  No one had attempted this because of the distance.  In order to accomplish this, the plan was to have a second group start from the opposite side and leave supplies for the expedition to use as it came across.  Shackleton figured they could carry enough supplies to go about 1200 miles.  The second group would head toward the pole and leave supplies until it went about 600 miles.  The theory was to meet the supplies as they needed them.  This was a bold adventure without a GPS and only a magnetic compass that they would have to trust.  Unfortunately, bad weather for both parties kept the journey from being attempted.

    It was a good plan, to have the supplies ready for the expedition when it arrived.  They could pick up the needed supplies and continue on their planned journey to the opposite side.  If it hadn’t been for some really bad storms, it would have worked.  Everything was laid out just in time and just in the right place that they would need it.

    God does the same thing for us.  He lays out ahead of us the supplies that we need.  That can really be a comfort for us as we think about our life.  As the struggles go ahead of us, God has laid out what we will need to go forth.  We can see how God does this as we look at creation.  God created everything we needed to support this body and life and he did this first.  The food, the shelter, the alignment of day and night was all in place before God created man.  All our needs were planned for.  Even the sending of Jesus as our Savior was planned out before the foundation of the world.

    We can truly find comfort in this.  As we face the struggles of life, as we face challenges that make us shake with fear, God has already placed the supplies that we need in place.  These supplies can include people, words of comfort and hope, his Spirit, and the fellowship of Communion, all of which are in place to give you the comfort and the consolation that you will need as we go through the battles of life. 

   So if you are facing some real challenges in your life; they could be health issues for you or a loved one, they could be end of life struggles, they could be financial upheaval, they could be relationship meltdowns, they could be any or all of these; we can face them with the certainty that God has laid the supplies in place for you.  So, while we may not always see how the path will go; we can rest assured that God knows the way and provides for us as we go.

Father of grace, you provide all that we need to support this body and life.  This is a great comfort for us. Help us to hold fast to this promise.  Help us to see your mercy active in our lives.  Be with those who are truly struggling at this time of their life.  Give them the assurance that you are there with them and that you have their needs provided for.  Help them to have peace in this journey.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret