You're Not Alone: Encouragement in Challenging TimesSample

Hey, old friend! How’s life these days?  

So much about life has changed in the last year, has it not? 

The world around us. How we shop and communicate. How we organize and do church. How we do medicine and community. So many external things. But there’s also been so many changes within you.

So much on the outside has been out of your control, but what changes originated internally in your life?

Your generation faced unthinkable, even unimaginable challenges before. So you have different reference points to the challenges of today. Like the marathoner who trains over a lifetime and whose endurance increases with age and time, you have a foundation of wisdom and experience. The world needs those qualities right now, more than ever!

And yet, perhaps you couldn’t have imagined that when Easter or Thanksgiving or Christmas rolled around, you wouldn’t be able to see your family. No travel to them. No travel to you. No warmth of fellowship around the table as you’ve done every year for as long as you can remember. 

Maybe you’ve experienced the double edged sword that the passing of a loved one or friend means during this season, as you couldn’t properly remember or celebrate their life. Couldn’t put your arms around them in their final days. Couldn’t be with them to bring comfort or to show your love and care. 

Perhaps nothing in life could have prepared you for some of the things you experienced in this season. And yet here you are. Doing your best to keep the faith and look to God as you walk new challenges out. Again. 

Maybe you’ve heard the ticking of the clock too loudly, as that persistent second hand makes its circular path around each day. Where normally friends, visits, activities filled up so many moments, there’s just been the tick tock, tick tock of time.

It could be that you’ve aged faster than before. As the limitations of lockdowns or physical distancing kept you from the proven routine that’s kept you feeling and looking young. Causing anxiety and even dread.

For some, this season may not have been that different from any other. You’ve walked through it with your faith and lifestyle intact. Unscathed.

Wherever you're at and whatever your needs, no matter who you are, you need a fresh supply of God’s grace. You need to hear that you are loved by God. He sees you and He knows you.  

Close your eyes right now, wherever you are. Take a deep breath. Let it fill your lungs.

The Spirit of God is with you. And He is your helper. An ever-present help in your current trials and challenges and in your triumphs too. God is present to comfort you and to counsel you. 

Take another deep breath to just focus on the truth of that today. 

Dear one, hear this today: God is your strong refuge and hope, no matter what you face. May this truth minister to you, internally, today. May it touch your life.

God loves you. And today, before you do anything else, reflect on that! 

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