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A personal word

From the Heart of the
Pastor & First Lady

Words of faith, hope, and encouragement from Pastor Heath and the First Lady, Christy Easler of Grace Pointe.

“
Faith does not eliminate questions. But faith knows where to take them.

ELISABETH ELLIOT

From the heart

From the Pastor

I have found that in my lifetime I have often had many questions, as I will never understand why God does the things He does. I can't understand why some people prosper while others are left begging, why some have healthy lives and others are born sick and struggle with their health, or why some can be disobedient and not seemingly face consequences while others are obedient and still struggle. Why does God sometimes seem to be quiet when all we want is for Him to speak loudly and let us know which way to go?

All these things plague my mind. These questions can bring anger, uncertainty, unrest, a lack of peace, and even disbelief. In my journey for those answers, I read Isaiah 26:3–4:

“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.”Isaiah 26:3–4 KJV

It gives me a sense of shame as I think, “Why do I not simply trust Him?” I trusted my parents as a child to do the very best for me, and that was not so hard. As an adult, though, I sometimes lack that childlike faith and trust.

I am reminded that His ways are not my ways and His thoughts are not my thoughts. It makes me hang my head and think, “Lord, You promised. I should have trusted and had faith.” I meditate on Romans 8:18:

“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”Romans 8:18 KJV

So why does it matter if I have to suffer some or if others prosper? If they are wicked, this is their reward, but my reward is in Heaven, and my hope in eternity is found in Christ. Surely, instead of questioning God, I should trust Him. His Word declares:

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”Romans 8:28 KJV

This verse lets us know that for the redeemed of the Lord, even difficult situations—in sickness and all the uncertainty in life, along with all of our stuff—can ultimately be used by God for good. The questions in our minds should never drown out the faith in our hearts.

I also think about God's sovereignty and His ability to have power over the clay:

“But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.”Isaiah 64:8 KJV

I realize that we were made in His image and His likeness, and He truly does want what is best for us. He has rule over our lives, and all the uncertainty and unrest of tomorrow can disappear like a lightning flash from the sky if we increase our faith and simply trust in His plans for us.

I suppose some of the questions we all have will never be answered in this life. But then again, if I trust Him and have a relationship with Him, I have eternity to ask those questions in person. May God bless you in all your questions and in your quest for knowledge of Him. Just remember: trust Him. Don't let those questions trip you up; let them build you up as you endeavor to keep the faith.

In His love,Pastor Heath

From the heart

From the First Lady

There are times our tears fall from our questions. One of the tear-filled questions people ask is, “Why do I feel so alone in this?” Reflecting on my life, this is how I have felt many times when life seemed too heavy. Often, when that happens and the pressure of life begins to press in, I find myself tending to pull away and isolate myself. In that season, when people asked how I was, I would smile through a fake “fine” answer while I suffered silently.

It's so easy to let pride convince us that as long as we have Jesus, everything is okay. This is as true as we allow it to be, because with Jesus comes an entire army—an army of angels and, yes, people.

We are called to carry each other's burdens, just as they are called to help carry ours. One way we can fail to fulfill this principle is by not allowing others to see the burdens we carry. Throughout Scripture, we see accounts of God bringing people to help support the emotional, physical, and spiritual loads of life: Moses and Aaron, Naomi and Ruth, and Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. But like me, you may wonder, “How do we invite people into our burdens without feeling like a burden?”

We can surround ourselves with truth.

While God does send people to help us carry the load, we must remember that He is the ultimate load-bearer. Nothing will ever be too heavy for our God. The more we remind ourselves what His Word says, the more we'll have the right perspective of what it means to walk through heavy places with His principles and promises.

“For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”Matthew 11:30 NLT

We can show up for others.

We can't expect others to be in our corner if we're not consistently in theirs. Make it a goal each day to encourage someone. Speak words of hope to those around you. Let's consistently show up in others' lives as a voice of hope.

“A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need.”Proverbs 17:17 NLT

We can ask with grace.

This is hard for me. But one of the humblest places we can invite people into is our needs—not in a “Can you do this for me?” way, but rather, “Can you help me see the hope in this?”

There's a posture of grace as we walk through life together, and it begins with giving ourselves grace. None of us is strong enough to do this alone, but that doesn't make us weak. Be as gentle with yourself as you would be with someone else.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”Matthew 5:7 ESV

It's not a burden but a blessing to walk with someone through life and remind them that they are not alone. I know with certainty that I couldn't do this alone.

Love always,Your Pastor's Wife… who loves you dearly

You are not alone

We are honored to walk
this journey of faith with you.

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