DEVOTION & FOCUS
“Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”
Matthew 6:30-34 KJV
It is comforting and encouraging to know that our God operates in our present, He knows everything in our past, and He is fully over all things in our future. Knowing this truth, we should not stress over what is behind us, there is no reason to have anxiety about what is ahead of us, and we can be confident about every present moment. We cannot change the past and stressing over the future has no value. However, trusting God with our past, present, and future provides the peace and calm we all seek. As believers, our trust in Him and the peace and calm we demonstrate, is a witness to the World that our God is sufficient for all things.
I am so thankful for all of you. It has been a challenging and changing time. Our Pastors, Church Leaders and our Congregations have shown forth great strength, trust, and confidence in our Sovereign God. You have found new ways to Serve, Evangelize, and Worship. Many have not gathered in the church buildings, but the Church has never closed. Ministry has continued, people have been saved and encouraged. I believe we are stronger now than we were when the pandemic started.
As we move forward, I will continue to conversate with our Moderators and be advised on our direction. We have greatly missed your visits to the office, our Union meetings and even our Executive Board meetings. All of these are opportunities for us to fellowship and because of the absence of that, we miss you.
Hopefully, very soon we can begin to put those things back in place. As you do the same for your congregations, please have a plan in place and make it as safe as possible for your people. A plan communicated well to your congregation, will give them greater confidence in returning. Certainly, we understand things are different now and we should not attempt to return with no plan and business as usual. I have sent resources and suggestions from our convention on how to make any necessary transitions safe and productive. I do advise to continue proceeding without fear, but with great faith, caution, and wisdom.
May God continue to richly Bless!
Steve Strickland
DOM, BSBA
