By Pastor Nissa Peterson
Chatfield and Root Prairie
Lutheran Churches
Life is hard. It is full of ups and downs, pain and sorrow. For people of faith, our faith is part of what helps us weather those challenges in life! With lots of challenging national news happening in the last couple of weeks, I wanted to name some of the ways that faith can help you in times of discomfort, stress, or pain.
Faith reminds us that we are not alone! “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age,” Jesus tells us in Matthew 28:20. The disciples have just watched Jesus be crucified and buried, and then rise again, and now Jesus is leaving again. But into their pain and confusion Jesus wants them to remember YOU ARE NOT ALONE!
We are not alone because Jesus is with us (to the end of the age!). But also because we are surrounded by a community of people who support us. Even from the pain of the cross Jesus knew this was important. “When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’” (John 19:26-27) Jesus knew that they needed support to get through, and showed them their connectedness.
Faith reminds us that God is bigger than the challenges we face! I grew up watching “Veggie Tales” movies in the church library waiting for my parents to be done at church. And “Veggie Tales” would phrase this lesson as “God is bigger than the Boogie Man!” When Job is going through unimaginable difficulty and loss, God takes him on a tour of creation – showing him the storehouses of snow, the boundaries of the sea, the abundance of stars.
In all of this, God is telling Job that he is PART of creation, not the entirety of creation. God says I made you AND all of this. I love you AND all of this. Job is reminded that God is bigger than all of our human problems – even when those problems are life changing and important. But ALSO, God reminds Job that God loves us. God loves what God created, and that includes us.
Faith reminds us that this is not the end of the story. Jesus died on a cross, but that was not the end of the story. Jesus’ story continues with resurrection and new life! Sometimes it feels like our stories are coming to an end, too. It feels like we are defined by loss or suffering or pain. But the promises of new life in Christ overcome all of that! In the Lutheran funeral service, we proclaim “death has been swallowed up in the victory of our Lord Jesus Christ!” Even in death, faith reminds us that our stories continue in the love of Jesus.
So as you go through difficult seasons of life, I pray that your faith may help to guide you through.
Peace, Pastor Nissa
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