The entry originally prepared for today was a short piece on baptism. But I feel a little like Jude must have felt when he wrote (verse 3) that his little epistle had to be changed due to current events:
“Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.”
We’ve been encouraged to vote, vote, vote (!) over the past few months, and now that we have voted, we realize we have no clear winner. That is, we have no outcome which the other side will not contest, in one way or the other.
Since I’m not a prophet, and can’t predict precisely how things will turn out, it’s good to be able to assure you that according to the faith entrusted to us, God knows, and it’s going to be fine. All things are unfolding just as He knew they would, and regardless of the outcome, He is working in these things, even the rough and tumble world of partisan politics, for His glory and our good.
Even a cursory reading of the Bible confirms Jesus’ words (John 16:33) to us that “in this world you will have tribulation.” That is, we should not be surprised when things go sour. And yet, on the other hand, “Take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Mornings like this help us remember both of these realities, the inevitability of stressors and the certainty of triumph. Between them lies the path of faith, and Jesus’ instruction, “Let not your hearts be troubled.”
“Father, we thank you for the assurances of your Word,
the presence of your Spirit, and the work of your Son.
Help us today to obey Jesus’ words not to allow trouble to trouble us.
We trust you for today and for eternity, in Jesus. Amen.