Yesterday I noticed a bulletin on a college student’s facebook page that caught my attention.  Her father has just turned 49 last Thursday on Thanksgiving.  Saturday morning he passed away due to a heart attack.  Nothing can entirely prepare one for such a tragedy to take place.  Yet, her words on her announcement of his death cut right to the heart of the issue “I’m not ok and probably won’t be for a while, but I know that God has bigger plans.”

When life hits us between the eyes it is right to say that we are not ok, but to realize that God has bigger plans.  Travis (last name withheld for privacy) and his family have been hit between the eyes this week, learning that Travis has an inoperable brain stem glioma.  As a congregation we are well equipped to offer love, care, and support for Travis and his family, but they are not ok and probably won’t be for a while.  God has bigger plans, but we are not always privy to them when we might like to be.

This Sunday, Pastor Kevin will be preaching on Isaiah 9:2-7.  This prophecy on the coming of the Messiah, points to the darkness that we find ourselves in when the light comes to shine into the darkness.  When times are good we so easily forget that we have a great need for God in our lives.  Why would we need God when we seem to be able to handle things ourselves?  Why would we need a Savior with we can save ourselves?

The truth is that we need a Savior, we need a God, because we cannot save ourselves, we cannot handle life on our own.  To think that we can is to either deny our need or have false faith in ourselves.  Proper faith clings to the cross of Christ with the knowledge that God not only have bigger plans but is Himself bigger than any trial that comes our way.  God is the beginning and the end.  God’s love is unfathomable.  God is the cornerstone of our faith and the rock upon which we build our lives.

Please be in prayer for Kaila (the student who lost her father) and be in prayer for Travis and his family as they look to God to comfort and healing.