Yesterday was a very surreal day for me. Second anniversary of Coach Armstrong’s death partnered with the funeral of a high school friend of mine. It’s no secret the relationship that I had with Coach. Still hard to believe that he’s gone. And as far as my friend, she died on my birthday, February 23. I don’t know all the circumstances surrounding her death. But, what do know is that she struggled a long time with internal demons that controlled her life. They consumed her and led her to make decisions that took her way too soon. I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around it.
Then this morning I get up and I watched the message that Coach had given at his church in January 2021. One of the points of it was that we are in a fight. Our enemy is after us. He wants our souls. He also talked about how Jesus loves us. Doesn’t have to. But chooses to. And that alone deserves our devotion to him. Then Barbara and I went to church. Robin spoke on John 5. He emphasized that no matter what you are going through God cares about you. No matter our past. No matter our present. No matter our future. NO MATTER OUR DEMONS! God loves us.
We all carry stuff. We all carry things that tap at our hearts. Things that bring us down. Things from our past. Things we regret. The question is, do we really want to get well? Do we want to heal? Do we want to get past those issues. In John 5, we read about Jesus healing a man. But, even before he did, the man gave some excuses for not believing it can happen. Sound familiar? Have you ever doubted that Jesus can provide salvation. Ever think: I’m not worthy. I have issues. If I could just…. I’m sure most of us have had these thoughts. No matter what we are going through or believe, Jesus says come to me. He will help us. But it requires action on our part. Drugs, relationships, anxiety, etc. Nothing can keep us from him if we choose to seek him. And know this, sometimes we need to stand up for God. Then he’ll help us. Sometimes we need to step out of our comfort zones. Show that we believe. Then he will help. And let me make this last suggestion: Let’s remember to rejoice and give thanks for what he has done. And for what he’s going to do. Let’s “act” on our beliefs for Jesus.
