A Thought For The Week Of January 13

Corrie Ten Boom wrote, "let God's promises shine on your problems." That's actually pretty good advice. It seems to me that often the biggest problem we have is letting our problems get the best of us. We face challenges, and we become consumed by them and desperate because of them. Then we make unwise choices in a frantic effort to get out of whatever situation we've found ourselves in, and by doing that we get ourselves into even more problems. It becomes a vicious cycle that we can't escape from. We simply spiral downhill. I've seen that spiral happen in the lives of people. It's not pretty. But I've also seen people who look like they're trapped in that spiral but manage to pull themselves out of it. Often, it's because their faith gave them the strength to do so. Through the Bible, God makes many promises to us: through Jesus, God promises to be with us always and God promises to help us bear our burdens. Perhaps most important is that there is nothing in all creation that we can experience that can ever separate us from divine love. With those promises resting upon us, shining on all of the problems we face, we can in fact overcome those problems and create the abundant life Jesus wants us to have. Have a great week!