Jim Andrews, Pastor

Jim Andrews, Pastor

Jim Andrews, Pastor

For those who belong to Christ, physical death is the (beginning of) the fulfillment of our hope; for those who die without Christ, physical death is the death of hope itself.

Jim Andrews, Pastor

Asa Hart

Jim Andrews, Pastor

Jim Andrews, Pastor

Jim Andrews, Pastor

Anxiety is just as much a part of life as eating and breathing. Circumstances, deadlines, disease, disappointments, suffering are no respecter of people. No one is exempt. The issue before us is not whether we will suffer or not, but how do we survive when life sucks me dry. Paul, who is writing the Philippians from prison, admonishes this struggling church that amid anxious moments they are to rejoice. Rejoice? I just want to breath again. How am I going to be joyful when my life is so miserable? Paul tells them, “The path to peace in any and every circumstance is prayer.” When we pray, we direct our anguish to the Lord who truly understands, because He too suffered like us. If there is one person who is truly empathetic it is Jesus. We go to Him who understands and does help us in our time of need. It is knowing that He will help us through these moments that give us perfect peace. The Lord could and sometimes does lift the weight off our chest, but most of the time He does something greater, He gives us the grace we need to endure it. Because it is in these desperate moments that our faith is tested, tried and proven to be true. It is when we pray and acknowledge that the Lord is at work in our lives that we see that we do have purpose and our lives do have meaning. As the Lord works in our condition whether through deliverance or through endurance, ultimately, He proves that He exists and that He cares for those whom He loves. For us prayer helps us maintain a right perspective on this life. We are not temporal beings. We are people created for eternity. And no matter the duration of our suffering, we know all suffering will end for those whose faith is in Jesus. That as Paul says, “Our suffering does not compare to the peace that is yet to come.” (my words). One day this temporal existence will cease, and a new heaven and a new earth will exist where we will no longer suffer. It is prayer that keeps us attuned to the Lord who understands us, who provides for us, who have a purpose for us and who helps us keep perspective that gives me peace in the most trying times. This peace we access when we pray.