Word and Witness

Don Sperling, Pastor – Volume 1.3 – 4-3-20

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The Lord Is A Strong Tower You Can Depend On

It has been difficult not to be able to gather together over the last few weeks on Sunday morning, and now we know that this will continue through at least April 30th. I have been keeping our Clarenceville Church family in my prayers and encourage you to do the same. I hope that getting Sunday messages on line each week has been a help. I will continue to do this throughout the time when we are not able to gather in person. I thank Jeff Cummings for doing the videotaping and all the technical work that needs to be done so that we can offer this to you. Unfortunately, for those who are not able to access the internet, we have not been able share in this way. That is why it is such a blessing if you are able to take the time to call people that you know need to have a contact. That is one way that we can continue to be His Church through these trying times.

This has been a time that we have never experienced in our lives. Businesses are closed across our state and country, our Michigan schools will not reopen for the rest of this school year, our churches have been closed for all activities including worship services, and so many are suffering financially. The question that I have been asked often has been, “When will we get back to the way things were?” My answer is that I believe we may never get back to exactly the way it was before COVID-19, either in this country or in the world.

This pandemic has truly shaken just about every place on the planet. All of us have been affected in ways that will take a long time to understand. The security we might have once had has evaporated as we have discovered just how fragile we are as human beings and how breakable our world is.

Not returning to exactly the way we were might not be a negative thing. I have come to know, more now than ever before, that I have to rely on God in my life for every second of every minute I draw a breath; that I am not so strong or so secure in my own self as I might once have thought. So, where do I go for that strength and security that I need? The author of the Book of Proverbs – Solomon, king of Israel and son of David and Bathsheba – writes a book that is full of short and pithy wisdom statements. In Chapter 18, verse 10 he says,

The name of the Lord is a strong tower;
    a righteous person rushes to it and is lifted up above the danger.

(ISV – International Standard Version)

That is what we need to know – when we go to the Lord, we are lifted up above all that is of this world. That is where I want to be – lifted up by my loving Lord God!

I believe that we are in a time that God is using to offer that strong tower of safety to all who will accept and rush to Him. It is also a time when His Church is being called to lead by example and commit our lives to serving our God and witnessing to the saving grace of Jesus Christ that is for all who would believe.

As we go forward, trust in God to take you through every challenge that you face. Know that we do not walk this time or any time alone.

Psalm 46:1-3 (NIV)

God is our refuge and strength,
    an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
    and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
    and the mountains quake with their surging.

My prayer for you and your family is that God will keep raising you up above the dangers that we face – today and every day!