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This fall, we're combining the blog/email and podcast formats. The form will be shorter than it was with the previous podcasts and will be sent as an email with a link to a podcast - a recorded version of the email. You can choose which format you prefer to receive it in!
If you subscribe to the podcast through Google podcasts, it should show up in your feed so you won't need to go find it. Our social media sites will link to our podcast page, which also offers a PDF of the text. Hopefully, this will help reach as many people as possible!
Click here if you would prefer to listen to the podcast audio of this message!

In the letter we call 1 Peter, there is an expectation that our lives will have challenges. There will be hard days for us. Sometimes they are brought on by circumstances beyond our control. Other times, those hard times are brought on by the intentional choices of others. And, if we’re honest, there are times when we bring difficulty upon ourselves. Regardless of the source of those challenges, it is very common for our hardest times to bring up the biggest questions in our lives. We’re going to talk about those questions briefly today.

I’m the first to admit that compared to many (perhaps most), I have lived an easy life. That is not to say that life has always been easy! I have felt, to borrow from Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians, the reality of living in a “jar of clay.” I have known the reality of being hard-pressed on every side, perplexed, persecuted, and even struck down. (2 Cor. 4:7-10)

In those times, questions are natural and normal.

  • Why is this happening, God?
  • Why are they doing this, God?
  • What did I do wrong?
  • When will this end?

These are good questions to consider, but they are also frustrating because, in my experience, they are unanswerable. And any attempt to truly answer them is primarily an act of conjecture shaped more by my desire for everything to make sense than a full understanding of what is real. Any given situation is too vast and complex and has too many variables for us to really give a reliable response to these huge questions.

But there is one question that I have found helpful and even answerable to a certain extent. That question is “Where are you, God?” We are assured in Hebrews that God will never leave us. And the fact that circumstances around us, imposed on us, and in us don’t align with God’s heart for the world doesn’t mean that God is not present with us. Sometimes, we need to take the time to look for where God is present rather than focusing on all the places God isn’t.

I remember one of the most difficult times in my life - when I couldn’t answer any of the why, what, and when questions. In those times, if I turned by eyes to the question, “Where are you, God?” I saw God’s presence in the beauty of spring and in the support of friends and in the provision from strangers. I saw God’s presence in the gift of breath and in the release of tears and in the laughter of children. I saw God’s presence through art, music, and masterful literature. I saw God’s presence by being able to wake up each day, in the comfort of love, and through the confirmation of a call.

I couldn’t explain why or what or when or how. But when I was able and willing to look for that which was true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and admirable - what was excellent or praiseworthy - there I was able to see the presence of our good and loving God.

As we walk through this day and these ongoing, challenging days, it is so easy to be overwhelmed by the weight of things. And the number of questions we cannot answer can just add to the burden. So I encourage each of us to take time to ask and dig into this one question we can answer if we have eyes to see. “Where are you, God?” And by God’s strength, may we live in such a way that our love helps others to answer this question, too.

Just a quick reminder of a few things this week:

  • Our Men’s Connection is on Tuesday morning at 10 am and our Women’s Bible Study is on Wednesday morning at 10 am.
  • Our Covenant Youth meet this week with Jr. High from 6:00-7:15 pm and Sr. High from 7:30-9 pm.
  • And finally, we have begun the process of making sure all of our contact information and email subscription information are up to date. We are asking everyone to provide us with your most up-to-date information even if you are sure we already have it correct. If you go to our website, www.covenantchurch.ca, you can find the form by clicking on the red banner across the top of the page. If you’d rather fill it out on paper, we have printed copies of the form at the church. They can be filled out on Sunday when you’re there or picked up and returned after being filled out.
  • Next Sunday, we are continuing our series through some of Jesus’ words in Matthew 5. This week, we’re getting into another topic that sounds challenging…divorce. I hope that as we explore it, you’ll find an invitation into something that is beautiful and life-giving and not something that is a weight or a judgment.

For now, as you go through this week and whatever it will bring, may you keep your eyes open for where God is showing up through beauty, kindness, care, and love. And may God give you the strength to show up as his presence for others.

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