Pastor Mike’s Garage January 20, 2022

*Pastor Mike’s Garage, Jan 20/2022*

Well, I’m back in the saddle again! Albeit I would need a crane and a
team of burly men to literally get me back in an actual saddle! Thank you
for your prayers, phone calls, gifts, and texts of support during this
time, it was much appreciated! While the hip process went very well, and
that area is recovering better than I expected, there were some other
things that arose in the midst of this all that made the road a little
rocky, but through it all God has been faithful and things are looking up!

I won’t lie to you, the unknown is always scarier than the known, and
during the long nights in the hospital when things were not going exactly
as planned and at times, they got a bit crazy, there were times the battle
against fear and anxiety was very strong! To top this all off as I looked
at the state of our health care system from within there were more than a
few things that I saw and heard that gave me pause for concern! It was in
the midst of all of this that I was challenged. Where is my hope? What am I
relying on to find life? Who am I looking to for comfort, safety and
security? To be brutally honest, before going through all of this I thought
I had a rock solid faith, I thought I was strong! Yet when squeezed
unfortunately a strong peace and faith in God wasn’t what came out first!
It was in a dark night of the soul that I picked up the Gideon bible that
was on the nightstand beside my bed in the hospital and I was looking at
the “where to find help when…” section when I noticed the section on
being distressed or troubled and started reading the verses they listed.
One of them was Romans 8:28-39. Now I’ve read these verses thousands of
times but as I was laying in that hospital bed that night, they came alive.
“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love.
Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for
today, nor our worries about tomorrow, not even the powers of hell can
separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth
below-indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from
the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans
8:38-39NLT. What popped out to me at that moment is when Paul said that
even our fear for today nor our worries about tomorrow would separate us
from the love of God! I was feeling pretty defeated leading up to that
moment. My mind was full of fears for today and worries for tomorrow, and
to top that off the enemy was constantly throwing the questions at me what
kind of Christian was I to be having those fears or worries? What kind of
pastor was I? The honesty of what Paul was saying hit home, he wasn’t
saying we should never fear nor worry, that it was a great sin to do so, he
was saying that even in the midst of our fears and worries God desperately
loves us!

I know there are those reading this that are going through stuff! Some of
you are going through things far more serious than I! How yah doing? We
need to fix our eyes on Jesus the author and finisher of our faith! God
loves you in the midst of your circumstances! God loves you in the midst of
your fears and worries! God loves you in the midst of your failures! Hold
desperately onto Him! Our healthcare system is not the answer, our
financial security is not the answer, our government is not the answer,
they are all broken! They always have been! Jesus is still the answer for
the world today, above Him there’s no other, Jesus is still the way!

Pastor Mike!

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