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Cal's Pastoral Epistles
Going With God
May 31, 2005
Dear friends,
I bought a new mailbox this week. It may not seem like much to you, but
for me it ended a two year battle that I waged within myself. Our old
mailbox was shaped like a church. It had a lot of character and a bit of
history. My father bought it and put it together for us when we moved into
our first home in 1989. Back then it was intended to be a birdhouse. Funny
thing is that I never saw one bird stop by and check it out. (I wonder if it
was because it looked too much like a church!)
We needed something to accept the mail when we moved into our current
home. That’s when a friend of ours who did woodworking reconfigured it
and turned it into a cute little mailbox. For the next nine years it sat out
front serving us faithfully. Then one night vandals came by and smashed
it to smithereens. I was heart broken. Lori and I talked about trying to
replace it but decided that in the interim we would buy a cheap plastic one
to do the job. That was two years ago.
Since we put up that plastic one, it has been knocked down twice. A few
weeks ago the front door actually fell off and the flag was hanging by a
tether. I thought about buying a new one but I just couldn’t do it. I kept
thinking about the fact that it would only get hit again. It seemed pointless.
I was paralyzed by this irrational fear.
I was driving home from church on Sunday when I was struck by the fact
that a lot of people have much greater problems in their lives than my little
mailbox. Yet, it dawned on me that all it takes is a little thing to paralyze
them from moving forward with life. It may be a hurt from a previous
relationship or an injustice at work. Some people struggle with insecurity
that stems from an incident back in grammar school. Others live with the
guilt from something they did wrong in the past.
That’s where the good news of the gospel comes in. God is great at
helping people start over. When Elijah was running scared and
discouraged, God came to him and spoke to him in the still small voice and
got him moving again. He knew God was with him. When Simon Peter
had his head down and was deep in guilt over betraying the Lord, Jesus
came to him, forgave him and sent him out to feed the sheep. Bad things
happen. Mistakes are made. Yet, we are called to be “more than
conquerors” by the Apostle Paul. We are told that we should not be afraid
to go out and live life because “all things work together for good for those
who love the Lord.” You see, we know who holds the future. The Apostle
Paul says, “For this slight, momentary affliction is preparing us for a
weight of glory beyond all measure.” That means God has something
better planned for us. So don’t let the problem of the moment get you
down. Look to God and He will help you move past it.
So this weekend I went out and bought a new mailbox. It is a nice one
that looks like a cedar home. Now I can’t figure out what I was afraid of
and why I waited so long. I should have just had a little more faith. How
about you? Do you have something you have been meaning to do? Go do
it and trust God to see it through. You will be glad you did.
God Bless! See you in Church. Cal
May 31, 2005
Dear friends,
I bought a new mailbox this week. It may not seem like much to you, but
for me it ended a two year battle that I waged within myself. Our old
mailbox was shaped like a church. It had a lot of character and a bit of
history. My father bought it and put it together for us when we moved into
our first home in 1989. Back then it was intended to be a birdhouse. Funny
thing is that I never saw one bird stop by and check it out. (I wonder if it
was because it looked too much like a church!)
We needed something to accept the mail when we moved into our current
home. That’s when a friend of ours who did woodworking reconfigured it
and turned it into a cute little mailbox. For the next nine years it sat out
front serving us faithfully. Then one night vandals came by and smashed
it to smithereens. I was heart broken. Lori and I talked about trying to
replace it but decided that in the interim we would buy a cheap plastic one
to do the job. That was two years ago.
Since we put up that plastic one, it has been knocked down twice. A few
weeks ago the front door actually fell off and the flag was hanging by a
tether. I thought about buying a new one but I just couldn’t do it. I kept
thinking about the fact that it would only get hit again. It seemed pointless.
I was paralyzed by this irrational fear.
I was driving home from church on Sunday when I was struck by the fact
that a lot of people have much greater problems in their lives than my little
mailbox. Yet, it dawned on me that all it takes is a little thing to paralyze
them from moving forward with life. It may be a hurt from a previous
relationship or an injustice at work. Some people struggle with insecurity
that stems from an incident back in grammar school. Others live with the
guilt from something they did wrong in the past.
That’s where the good news of the gospel comes in. God is great at
helping people start over. When Elijah was running scared and
discouraged, God came to him and spoke to him in the still small voice and
got him moving again. He knew God was with him. When Simon Peter
had his head down and was deep in guilt over betraying the Lord, Jesus
came to him, forgave him and sent him out to feed the sheep. Bad things
happen. Mistakes are made. Yet, we are called to be “more than
conquerors” by the Apostle Paul. We are told that we should not be afraid
to go out and live life because “all things work together for good for those
who love the Lord.” You see, we know who holds the future. The Apostle
Paul says, “For this slight, momentary affliction is preparing us for a
weight of glory beyond all measure.” That means God has something
better planned for us. So don’t let the problem of the moment get you
down. Look to God and He will help you move past it.
So this weekend I went out and bought a new mailbox. It is a nice one
that looks like a cedar home. Now I can’t figure out what I was afraid of
and why I waited so long. I should have just had a little more faith. How
about you? Do you have something you have been meaning to do? Go do
it and trust God to see it through. You will be glad you did.
God Bless! See you in Church. Cal
Pastor Cal Lord writes these weekly epistles to
help us see God in every day things.
help us see God in every day things.
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