GIVE pause
Draw near to God and take courage By Rachel Brown There is a great variety of emotions surrounding the events of the past year. Nearly everyone would agree that the changes in our community and the world have challenged norms and disrupted our comfortable routines. That has certainly been true in the ministry where I serve, Cole Valley Christian School. The arrival of Covid, stay-at-home orders and area mandates have continually left me wondering how this ministry, my job and my children’s education would be impacted. Would the Lord provide teachers for my children and the many others at CVCS? Would enrollment decline due to health and financial concerns? Would the Lord provide for the needs of the ministry? In my personal life, lives of my friends and church family life, I hear echoes of those same questions and more. As I have pondered what can be learned from last year and all the fears that arose, I see a theme. All of them can be summed up in one simple question: in what do I put my faith? I have personally been challenged and blessed to watch believers choose to respond in faith, trust and courage even in the grip of grief and hardship in 2020. Isn’t it true that our response to hardship, fear and upheaval is a good indicator of our walk with the Lord? To respond as Joseph and believe that even what is meant for evil
God will use for good is not natural in our flesh (Gen. 50:20). Our response can be an enormously impactful testimony for the Lord to encourage other believers and illuminate for unbelievers the hope that is found in the Lord alone. God often uses difficulty and disruptions to capture our attention and draw us into deeper relationship and conversation with Him, but sometimes we don’t pause. It is all too easy to live within our daily routines and grow less aware of our ever-present need to trust in the Lord. I was reminded of this last summer when one of my friends asked me to pray for her family. As a single income family with seven children, they are reliant on the husband’s employment for income. When my friend told me that her husband would likely be laid off due to the stay-at-home order, I responded that I would pray he would keep his job. She said, “There is no need to pray he will keep his job. Only pray that we will continue to rely on the Lord alone to provide.” This response fueled by her dependent walk with the Lord and continually joyful countenance floored me (Matt. 6:31-21). In subsequent conversations, she talked about daily pause to listen to the Lord and meditate on His Word. The Lord did answer their prayer by allowing her husband to keep his job, one of only three people in the company they were able to retain. In addition, soon after, he was publicly honored
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www.WeiserC lassicCandy.com 36 March / April 2021 | Christian Living
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