For many of friends and family, they have had trials which most of them have been the loss of a loved one. Our church has had two members passed within the last couple of days, and a former staff member shared a former member passed. One man shared he lost his home in a fire that related to the L.A. fires.
My family and I have had our bumps in the first month of 2025. My wife's stepfather passed away one week after the new year began. A few days later, my wife traveled out of state to see my father-in-law who was recovering from back surgery, which that was no surprise. After the surgery, he was incoherent and looked like he suffered a stroke. I am thankful to say he did not suffer a stroke. What had happened was he was given too much pain medication by the hospital to the point of nearly overdosing. He made a full recovery and was released from the hospital. My wife stayed for a few days to make sure he was fine and help keep his house in order. As she came back, we got word one of her uncles was in put in assistant living as he was diagnosed with dementia.
I am not sure how the first month of the year was for you. Maybe you had some trials. Maybe things when very well with a few bumps. No matter how this year has begun for you, Christians take heart knowing that God is still in control. We have been promised by Christ that tribulations will come, but we can take heart that He has overcome the world (John 16:33). James said that the testing of our faith will bring about perseverance (James 1:3). The Apostle Paul tells us that all things work together for good to those who love God (Romans 8:28). What is the good? To be conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29).
We can take heart knowing that whatever comes our way, God is still in control. He is still with us.
To close, here is song from Emu Music, which happens to share the title to this post, "Take Heart."
No comments:
Post a Comment