Pastors Corner

“See the former things have taken place, and new things I declare, before they spring into being, I announce them to you.” – Isaiah 42:9

Recently, I was reading an article in Forbes called “Former POW Shares Thoughts on Surviving and Thriving in Difficult Times.” by Chris Cancialosi. Based on his own and other POW’s experiences in captivity, he described three general responses to prolonged uncertainty and difficulty. The first is false hope. These were prisoners who kept setting a date in which they thought they would be released. “Maybe by Christmas, maybe by Easter…” Unfortunately, over time they would lose a piece of themselves and be broken in spirit. The second were people who lost all hope. This group struggled the most and many of them did not make it out of captivity. The third and most successful group were those who maintained resilience. They faced the reality of their difficult situation but never lost hope that things would get better. 

While I am not saying that living through a pandemic is the same as being a prisoner of war, there are some similarities. Mainly, feeling a loss of control in the present and a deep uncertainty of what will happen in the future. In order to make it out of these difficult times, it will require this ability to look reality in the eye without ever losing hope that God will bring us to greener pastures and stiller waters. I believe this is the spirit in which the prophet Isaiah wrote. He denounced the injustice and evil of his time but always pointed Israel toward a better tomorrow.

One of the phrases I keep hearing is “the new normal.” As people talk about it, they say that things will never be the way they used to be. Instead, we have to get used to a new way of living. While there is partial truth in this, I believe that this mentality fails to imagine a better and more beautiful tomorrow. It lacks the essential ingredient to overcoming difficulty which is hope. 

Friends, God brings life out of death! When the former things pass away, God promises new and better things in the future! In our saddest and most difficult days (and there will be quite a few) we must never lose faith and hope that God will bring a better United States, a better New York City, a better Community United Methodist Church, a better family, and a better ME at the end of this ordeal. Keep praying and keep believing and God will bring us to the Promised Land!

In Christ,
Pastor Kim