By Kate Wharton
Well, this is our last Infinite Moment for the time being! We’re taking a break over the summer, and then from September we’re very much hoping that we’ll be able to meet onsite once more. In fact, keep an eye out for exciting plans of a relaunch event on Sunday September 5th!
I recognise, of course, that this is a really strange time for us all. All of the national mandatory restrictions have been lifted, and so in theory there is more ‘freedom’ for us all. But even from just a week of living that way, we know that it isn’t that straightforward in practice.
Many of us will be delighted about the changes, and pleased that certain things are now possible which weren’t before. Many of us will be worried and apprehensive, and feel less safe now as a result. Many of us will have faced lots of difficult decisions about work or school or family or holidays. Many of us might already have felt the effects of the ‘pingdemic.’
What’s absolutely clear (if we didn’t already know it) is that there is going to be no clear cut ‘end’ to all things coronavirus. I think last March we all imagined that there would be a day (and perhaps we even believed that it might be in 2020) when it would be ‘over’ and life would ‘go back to normal.’ In reality, though, we are having to make many adjustments over time, with some things changing, and then others, and then others. We don’t even know at this point that all of our progress will be forward – we may yet find ourselves having to take some steps back as well.
During the past 16 months we’ve all had to live in a way that we would never have chosen. It’s been tough. It may well continue to be tough. I know from conversations with many of you that you have faced many trials and difficulties. There is no easy answer to all of that, no nice little slogan that we can print on a wall plaque, surrounded by rainbows and butterflies, which suddenly just makes everything ok again.
However, there are some foundational truths which stand firm throughout, no matter what storms and trials are going on around us. There are some things which are just quite simply TRUE every single day. It is to those things that we must hold when life gets hard. God is still God, and God is still good. Every. Single. Day.
Throughout June and July we’ve been doing a sermon series at our 9am and 11am services, where we’ve thought about 8 promises of God. Maybe you’ve heard all of them, or just a few. You can still watch any of our 11am services on YouTube if you missed them. There are the promises – God says that:
· His love endures forever
· He will never leave us nor forsake us
· We need not fear
· He will forgive us
· He will give us wisdom
· He will give us rest
· He will give us peace
· He works for our good
Today, and this week, and this summer, and in all the days ahead, may we remember the promises of God, and may we be sure and certain of his love and faithfulness, no matter what is happening around us.
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