I’m still sitting in the courthouse downtown, sneaking bits of time to work between jury duty. I’m sitting for a trial until sometime next week, probably. It has been very strange to come to a tall, air-conditioned building filled with order, rules, and officers of the court while the rest of the world, it seems, is crumbling into bits. What is going on with the UK and the EU? Istanbul? Not to mention our country, which, if anyone knows what’s going on, has yet to explain it to me.
Bewilderment can breed despair. Remember when you were a kid and got a math problem or a writing assignment, and you felt like you could never figure out what to do? I feel like the world is like that—continually slipping from my grasp, overturning my understanding.
This week, St. Paul writes, "So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith.” This is a good injunction, especially for bewildering times.
Whatever your circumstances, you can always return to God’s word and to the example of Christ Jesus. You can always remember the Lord delights in the truth, in kindness, in gentleness, in compassion. Never weary of these things, or of approaching God in prayer. In bewildering times, these things will be your guide.
Pastor John