Exodus 15.26 – For I am the Lord who heals you.

God is good.

I know some of you may be wondering why the long silence of writing. I haven’t written because I have felt far away from the Lord and only recently do I feel like my life with God is picking up again. I realise that often I feel closest to God when I am going through a bad patch or when things are a bit of a roller-coaster ride. I also had writer’s block for quite sometime. But is writers block a real thing? Or was I simply just avoiding to write?

I am tired of lock-down and we are only on day two of the second lock-down. I am tired of corona and having to go outside and wear my mask in case the disease might catch me. I am tired of corona dominating our lives. I am tired of having to keep looking for a job, and starting a new job which is temporary and then starting another job. I guess for everything there is a season. Some seasons last a life-time. Other times they come today and go tomorrow. They last a short time. But in all of this God is in control.

I sometimes wonder how much truth is in the numbers that the media is displaying. Is it scaremongering us? Using scare tactics to stop us from moving? I wonder what has happened to 2020? A year full of change – good and bad. Yet the one thing that remains the same is our Lord. Our God. God is good. He never abandons us. Never forsakes us, He has a plan for each one of us. Do I put my trust in Him? Or will I rely on my own strength?

What is God trying to teach me this year in 2020? One thing I have learnt is the power of prayer. The power of God’s gospel. The power of God’s love, compassion, grace and mercy over us. I know that God will not give up on us. I know that God goes before us and guides us every step of the way. This year has taught me that life is not all about work, work, work. It taught me the importance of relationship. Building relationships. Building people up, not breaking them down. This year taught me about reaching out to those who have little and to help the vulnerable, needy and ill. This year taught me that despite the challenges we face, the hardships we face – God is in control. He has a plan. He uses our stories to help others who go through similar challenges. He moulds us according to how he wants us to be.

So, even when a person tries to tear us down, tries to break us down, tries to interfere with what God is doing – God’s purpose and plan will always prevail. We also have a choice. Do we follow God’s plan for our lives? Or do we decide to follow our own plan for our lives? Who do we place our trust in? Who do we come to when we are completely broken? Who will understand us then? God knows what we each need. This life is about choosing to believe that God has everything under control. This life is about choosing to trust in the Almighty God. It is about saying God in you I put my trust, in you I seek your presence. In you I know that you have a plan for my life. I surrender my struggles to you and I shall not be afraid. Because you are in control and I know that you will not abandon me or forsake me.

God is grace. He is merciful. He shows us the way forward even when we are not sure where He will lead us. His guiding light will guide us. God is an amazing God and in Him I choose to trust. God uses different things in our lives to bring healing. I cried over chilli today. It was quite a spectacle. At first I laughed my head off because it was so spicy and laugher then turned into tears. Tears are good. They are healing.

And so my prayer is this – if you get tired I pray that you will seek the Lord. If you feel anxious, I pray that you will go to the Lord for his yoke is easy and his burden is light. If you are lost, go to the one true source and that is our Father in heaven who is light. I pray that you find peace and know the depth of God’s love for you even when you feel like he’s far away. Even when you don’t always understand his plans. I also pray that as and when we enter 2021 that Corona will become an old topic and that the new year will bring new beginnings. That this whole thing will just be a distant memory.

The one good thing about corona is that it brought a lot of families closer and for that I am truly grateful.

Let our lives not be wasted. Let us build each other up – not down.

And