We are experiencing a barrage of football in the midst of baseball playoffs. Sports fans of both professions will be glued to their TVs and the news media. This too will pass and other events will get our attention. The one thing that is constant in most of our lives are family and friends. To me, family and friends are what matters the most in life because regardless of what is happening around us, our real happiness and enjoyment are embedded in the smiles and laughter’s of loved ones.
Of course, there are times in life when God seems distant to us and we need our loved ones, pastors, and others to reassure us that whatever we are going through, it will soon pass and there will be a much brighter day. Sometimes we pray but feel abandoned by the mercy of our circumstances and we are afraid and feel hopeless. Our assurance is that in time, our circumstance will be better which lies in our faithfulness in a supreme power greater than self or others.
The bible tells the story of Paul who longed to preach in Rome and how his ship struck by a hurricane plunges everyone on board into despair. He had not only foreseen the loss of the vessel, its crew and cargo, but his own life also. Along with Paul, some 276 fellow passengers were placed in a life-threatening crisis, and there was nothing they could do about it. Terrified, he and his companions declared, “We finally gave up all hope of being saved!”
But you know when things seem hopeless and the bleakest in our lives that is the time when we need to pray for victory. It is a time to seek God and rely on family and friends to help us navigate through the darkness of uncertainties, to give us an encouraging word for inspiration, and to hang on for a better tomorrow.
Paul and his fellow passengers—cold, soaked, and hungry—did survive when their ship finally ran aground on an island. Their circumstance pointed to tragedy and the demise of their dreams but when the sun rose on the island, it became clear that the merciful hands of God had plotted their way through the storm to safety. Circumstances will pass and a better tomorrow will come providing you don’t give up. Never Give Up! Never Give Up! Never Give Up!
By Chaplain Ghosten
chaplain@lhp.net
