Dear Caldwell,
It’s Gail Henderson-Belsito at the keyboard this week.
Last Sunday, Donna Singletery blessed us with a sermon entitled, “Pockets of Praise and Prayers.” One of the highlights of her sermon was the story she told about doing a ropes course activity in which she found herself racked with fear. Her wise course instructor reminded her that she didn’t have to be afraid because her harness was connected to the rope. She couldn’t fail. She couldn’t fall. She reminded us that we don’t have to live in fear and we don’t have to live in doubt, because we too are connected to the harness, to the True Vine, to the Rock of our Salvation – who is Jesus Christ, our Risen, Redeeming, and Returning Savior.
I don’t know about you, but there have been many times in my life when I forget about my connection to God. Back in 2012 and 2013, when I was going through treatment for breast cancer, worry and fear paralyzed me at times. Even though I “knew” all the right answers in my head, I still needed to be reminded of what the Word of God says in Philippians 4:6-7 – Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. The New King James Version of the Bible says it this way – Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, let your requests be made known unto God.
The two words in that verse that have always stood out for me are “nothing” and “everything.”
Paul declares that there is nothing that we should be anxious about. That’s so hard, isn’t it? There is so much in the world and in our lives that can cause anxiety – like cancer, chemotherapy, car accidents, and climate change – just to name a few. One of the truths I cling to when anxiety tries to take over is found in Romans 8:37-39. Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. What a difference it makes to remember that, no matter what I face, I am loved by God. You are loved by God. We are all loved by God. Nothing can ever change that. Nothing.
In Philippians 4, Paul tells us that we can let our needs and requests be made known to God in everything. In every situation. When the job is lost. When our hours on the job are reduced. When the money runs out. When the relationship is falling apart. When we feel overwhelmed and alone. In everything, we can reach out and reach up – and be reminded that we are harnessed to the God who loves us enough to be with us in the mess and murkiness of life. God walks with us and weeps with us and suffers with us through everything. Everything.
One of our hopes and prayers here at Caldwell is that we will be a community that is harnessed to one another as we do the work God has called and equipped us to do here at the corner of Park and 5th. We laugh together, we cry together, and we pray together, trusting in the bond of love that keeps us tethered to God and to one another. We lift one another in prayer. We find ways to encourage each other through texts, email, and even through that ancient means of communication that we refer to as “snail mail.” We may not be together in person from Sunday to Sunday, but our hearts and spirits are united as one family and one body in Christ. We are held by God and harnessed to God – may God’s love strengthen the bond between us so that we do not fail and we do not fall.
Caldwell, we have two upcoming opportunities to tighten the tether that holds us together as a community of faith. This Sunday, March 3rd, at 9:45 am, we will begin our spring session of Caldwell 101 classes. If you want to know more about who we are and what we believe, please make plans to join us in The Upper Room to read and discuss Caldwell’s Mission Statement. And following worship, there will be a discussion of the book Color and Character in the Shelby Room. Lunch will be provided.
I pray that as we approach Lent – Ash Wednesday is March 6th – we will create “pockets of praise and prayers” in our schedules and in our hearts so that we can lay everything that we carry down at the feet of Jesus and allow nothing to draw us away from the One who loved us enough to come to earth, to live, die, and rise again for us and for our salvation.
As we go through these challenging days and times, may we hold confidently to the truth that we are always hooked into the harness of the love of God, filled with the Spirit of God, and held by the tender and healing hands of our loving Lord Jesus Christ, who will never let us go.
I hope to see you in worship on Sunday.
Grace and peace, Gail