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Last year I had a conversation with a person I greatly admire. She has experienced great strife in her life, and yet I’ve always seen her respond with great kindness and grace, even in the toughest moments. I finally got the courage to ask her: How do you do it? Why don’t you yell and scream and curse at the people who are trying to hurt you? She replied, I can’t control those people, I can only control myself, and I think that Jesus wants me to show them love, even when they can’t show it to me.
These simple words wrecked me. We read a similar sentiment shared by Jesus in the gospels, but I’ve never seen it lived out with such courage. Ever since that conversation, I’ve asked myself: What can I control?
The book of Isaiah offers us a simple and yet profound statement about the nature of God's work in this world:
“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?”
The truth is we do not always perceive it. We don’t always see and understand how God is moving and fostering change and growth. Moreover, it’s not our job to see it all or to know it all—we are called to be people of faith. We are called to be the people who listen, discern, and trust that God is moving through it all, even when we can’t quite perceive it.
This week, 4,000 United Methodists from across the globe are traveling to St. Louis for General Conference. I invite you to pray for them all, to pray for the church, and to do your best to trust that God is up to something in our midst, even if we can’t quite perceive it.
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