Rivertree Christian Chapel

April 7 – Find What Brings You Joy! Philippians 3:4b-14

Someone recently gifted me a journal engraved with the title, “Find What Brings You Joy and Go There.” What a powerful sentiment, I thought as I put the journal on the bookcase beside my other notebooks, ledgers, and binders. You see, I have been keeping journals for the better part of 70 years. I have been committing my thoughts to paper and examining every aspect of my circumstance throughout my life. It’s helped me to sort things out and put things in their proper perspective.

Those journals have served as vessels for my growth and development. I’ve poured onto those pages things that only my journals could bear to hear. The very act of excavating my anguish forced me to see things in a new light. And with each revelation, I was able to see a bit farther down the road. With every entry, I was able to learn and grow – to figure things out. It has helped me test some hypotheses – you know, like the Apostle Paul told the Thessalonians: Test everything; hold onto that which is good. And after I dumped it all in the journal, I took it to the Lord in prayer.

In conclusion, journaling has helped me take back my joy and reestablish my peace. It has helped me identify the source of all that is good and perfect. So, I offer you this advice: Find what brings you spiritual joy, and go there!

March 31 – Now what? Isaiah 43:1-7

When I read today’s scripture, I thought about our present situation. After many months of being restricted by the coronavirus and its variants, people are asking, now what? Some people have started to experience what psychologists call “pandemic panic,” here defined as “sudden fear or anxiety, often causing wildly unthinking behavior.” In other words, some people are terrified about what the future holds and have started to give in to their fears.

By contrast, other people have faced their fears with faith. This faith reaction is happening now just as it did 100 years ago, and throughout history. One psychologist reported that during the Spanish Flu, for example, people of faith frequently recited scripture as a source of comfort and reassurance. They understood that fear tends to weaken people. Faith tends to strengthen them. He found evidence that one of the scriptures they recited back then was Psalm 56:3: “Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in you, [God].” In other words, their faith helped them triumph over their fear.

Common advice today might include breathing in faith and breathing out fear. Breathing in peace and breathing out panic. Enjoying life — remembering to laugh, meditate, read scripture, and pray in spite of the uncertainties. Of course, we don’t know what the future will hold. But, as people of faith, we know who holds the future! Let’s find the courage to move forward without anxiety as we emerge from the pandemic. Acknowledging that God is in control and waiting in faithful anticipation for the pandemic to run its course may be just the thing to help you conquer your fears.

March 24 – Do Not Lose Heart: 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

The old folks used to say, “it comes in threes.” Death, that is. Or maybe it comes in fours or more. The frequency is irrelevant. The inevitability goes without saying. Here one day. Gone the next. Today’s Scripture teaches us not to lose heart when our temporary bodies begin to fade away over time. As our earthly natures waste away, we are being prepared to take on a glorious state of being beyond anything we could imagine or measure.

This scripture brings to mind my dearly departed cousin, who recently lost her battle to a complexity of illnesses. I remember the first time I met Lynda (not her real name). The day was sunny. She was sitting outside on a wooden deck while the sunlight danced on her cheek and accentuated her tranquil smile. I grew to know her well over the ensuing years. Soft-spoken, she had this humble, gentle, quiet spirit. Later, as sickness began to claim her vitality, she consistently exhibited peacefulness, as if she knew something the rest of us had yet to learn.

These days, as my own body wastes away, my memories of this remarkable woman encourage me. Taking my cues from her, I am able to look upon my own trials and frailty as a “slight momentary affliction” that is preparing me to bask in an eternal state of glory I can only imagine. So, I do not lose heart.