Easter People Have Hope
The other week came with some struggles that I have no control over. There are times I struggle and hold on to them, times I wrestle with the struggles and then there are those times that I acknowledge that I have no control and go straight to God. I will never forget the timing of this struggle - Maundy Thursday, just as Jesus was suffering. I literally cried out to Him. And I choose to believe Psalm 30:5, “...weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” Circumstances have changed but my hope has not. I am trusting God to take care of everything! Isn’t that what Easter is all about? Hope in Jesus. That night I thought of some of the circumstances that people I know are going through right now - major things. And then you put the Covid-19 on top of it. That is a lot, but we are Easter people and Easter people have hope! As Pine Valley United Methodist Church Pastor Tim would say, “Good folks, Easter is not over!”
I was reminded when my dad died and someone told Mom and me that they do not believe the saying, “God will only give you what you can handle.” He said, “I believe God gives you more than you can handle so you will lean on him.” I agree, otherwise, we would not need Him. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:13, “God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength but with your testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.” I think that is where “God will never give you more than you can handle” comes from. In Corinthians, Paul's words were about sin stalking and overcoming us but God gives us a merciful way of escape. If you apply those words to general sufferings, you can see where that quote came from. Paul means God won’t let you be tested beyond what you are able to handle WITH God’s help.
I was reminded of the Maundy Thursday service online. Karl’s solo of “Bow The Knee” by Chris Machen really resonated with me. As he sang, “When you don’t understand the purpose of His plan - in the presence of the King, bow the knee...when the path grows dim and our questions have no answers, turn to Him.” It was as if this song was written for right now. So many people feel things are so uncertain. We will experience overwhelming suffering because we live in a broken world with broken people. And we will know we cannot handle it but the important thing is that we remember Who can. Cry out to Him and God will give us just what we need when we need it. Let’s be like the psalmist in Psalm 121:1, and ask, “where does my help come from?” And like him, we must believe deep in our heart that, “my help comes from the Lord.”
Let’s quit focusing on the problems of Covid-19 and focus on the Problem Solver. Psalm 46:1-3, “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.” Isaiah 40:29, “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.“
What a special and different Easter season this has been. I think it has brought many blessings for us to be slowed down and have time to think about our Easter season. We are not busy making plans, buying outfits, planning our hats, and cooking for a huge crowd. I think that is good. God has taken a lot of clutter away! We are getting back to the real meaning of Easter. Would you have ever thought we would have Easter with social distancing? We know God is triumphant and that shows in our hearts this Easter season! While we miss our church family, I still feel the power of the Holy Spirit in my living room as I watch the services online. 1 Corinthians 15:57, "But thanks be to God! He gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
We were reminded Easter morning that Jesus Christ is alive and, because of that Easter, people have hope!