“God is our refuge and strength,
    a very present help in trouble.”
(Psalm 46:1)

     How many Lutherans does it take to change a light bulb?

Seven, one to change the bulb, and a committee to talk about how nice the old one was.

We joke but it doesn’t make change any easier.

     Changes again!?  Now what? Haven’t we had enough changes?

We become frustrated and upset; but it doesn’t make change any easier.

     Life has changed. It continues to change. Everything in our life can be described with the word, “fluid.”  Things are changing from week to week, day to day, hour to hour.

     A month ago, life was “normal.”  We saw “COVID-19” on the news, but it was “someone else’s problem.” Now our vocabulary has grown, with “on-line worship,” “social distancing,” “Safer at Home,” “hand sanitizer,” and more. Now it is OUR problem.

     Dr. Anthony Fauci recently stated, “The virus makes the timeline.”  We don’t know what to do. We want control, but we can’t control it. We want the crisis to be over, but we can’t control it. Nothing we do changes the problem. So, what do we do?

We adjust. We follow guidelines our government gives us. As our Lord tells us in Romans 13,

“Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God . . .  For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good.”

We trust. We listen to the truth of Scripture; putting ourselves in His care. We know our God:

-       He alone is the creator and ruler of all things created.

-       He alone is the one who has given us hope and certainty beyond this world by His death on the cross and His resurrection Jesus for the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.

-       He alone is the one who creates Christian faith in us and keeps us in that faith.

     We have the one and only true God who is “our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”  I wrote to a sister in Christ earlier this week about trusting in the Lord and praying. I wrote, “we need only trust—not for deliverance, but that He will continue to care for us, never out of His mind or out of His care, as He has promised us. That we can be sure of for Christ has accomplished it for us in His death and resurrection.”

CHRIST IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN INDEED! ALLELUIA!

Shalom in Jesus, our Risen Messiah,

Pastor Peter M. Peitsch