General Notes “Better to spend your time at funerals than at parties. After all, everyone dies—so the living should take this to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter, for sadness has a refining influence on us. A wise person thinks a lot about death, while a fool thinks only about having a good time. Accept the way God does things, for who can straighten what he has made crooked? Enjoy prosperity while you can, but when hard times strike, realize that both come from God …” Ecclesiastes 7:2-4, 13-14
Well isn’t that just a rosy perspective? Funerals are better than parties Sorrow is better than laughter We would rather have it straight and easy, but God sometimes makes things bent and hard. Just a barrel of fun. We might tend to write off Solomon’s musings as the unwise ramblings of a cynic, except for the fact that the Old Testament says that “God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure and breadth of mind, like the sand on the seashore, so that Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east, and all the wisdom of Egypt”(1 Kings 4:29); and that Jesus noted that people “came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon …” (Luke 11:31). Just maybe there is some truth in those seemingly dark thoughts. Indeed, there is. Fact is, we struggle when things are hard. We’d much rather have a well-lit, comfortable path to walk, but sometimes our way grows rough, difficult, steep and dim. In times like that, it is our tendency to think that we’ve somehow strayed from the correct trail. Surely God’s path wouldn’t take us through such trials. It is precisely in these times that we need to be reminded that God has not promised an effortless and trouble-free journey. Quite to the contrary, we have been warned not to “grow weary and lose heart,” and that we must be ready to “endure hardship” (Hebrews 12). When things get difficult, as the year 2020 has been for many of us, we tend to think that things are falling apart. Sickness and death are on the rise; social tension is growing in many places; anger has replaced civility; and governmental restrictions have threatened to impede our ability to worship freely as a family of believers. But maybe, just maybe, these things have not taken God by surprise. Indeed nothing, absolutely nothing catches Him off guard. Maybe He is working in and through these challenges to refine and retool us. Maybe He is removing those things that we have grown too
comfortable with, in order to re-align our priorities to better match His. So, while we think things are falling apart, could it be that in God’s economy, some things are finally beginning to fall into place? One thing is sure: Our Heavenly Father is not distracted. He is not remiss in His oversight. He is unrelenting in His love and watch-care. Bottom line is this: HE CAN BE TRUSTED. This issue of “The Connection” is all about looking for God’s hand in the middle of our distress. In April, the EMC Publications team rallied to produce several weekly articles to offer hope, encouragement and insight into some of the challenges 2020 has brought us. Some of those articles are reprinted in the pages that follow. They will encourage us to drink deeply from the truth that God’s character will never change, and He will always be for us and with us. One of those weekly offerings was a personal testimony by Pastor Ryan Call. In it, he wrote: “In the beginning of our stay-at-home order here in Virginia, I saw a quote from Pastor Tony Evans. At a time when the term social distancing had become common, he said the following: “We are physically distancing, not social distancing. Stay connected.” As I look back, that simple [thought changed] my personal perspective. Yes, there was a lot I could be frustrated about, but I am a child of God. In my devotional time, I [read] Romans 8:28 ESV: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” That verse says it all, and that means everything, the good, the bad and everything in between. My spirit began to swell as my own personal perspective began to shift. I now not only hoped but believed that God would use this pandemic for His glory, and would strengthen our marriages, relationships with our children, and His church as we seek Him.” Amen, Ryan. May we all look for those kinds of positive outcomes in the middle of the mayhem.
Rev. Max Edwards
International General Superintendent
The Connection
WINTER 2020
3
