WORD FROM THE PASTOR

           I was recently reminded that there are two towns in the Smokey Mountains very close to each other named “Trust” and “Luck.” I don’t know much about the towns, but someone observed that trust and luck are two very different words and two very different approaches to life. I remember a few years ago when I got sick with Mononucleosis in the fall. I asked the doctor how it happened that I caught Mono. She said to me, “bad luck.” If you are like me, you have probably had things happen in your life from time to time that you would characterize as “bad luck.” Or maybe you have been blessed with “good luck” at some point in time. I am further reminded of the old story of the person who was asked, “How are you?” and he replied, “I’m fine under the circumstances.” To which the questioner responded, “What are you doing under there?”

Trust is different than luck in that it doesn’t leave us at the mercy of the random winds of life. We are called to trust in God when times are tough and there are difficult challenges before us, having faith that God will see us through. We are also reminded to give thanks to God when we are blessed with good gifts, giving credit to our Lord. One of the all-time great Bible passages about trust is from Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.” Trusting in God means acknowledging God. When we simply say, “It was good luck or bad luck” we have not acknowledged God. And remember the great promises of Jesus. He said, “I will not leave you orphaned” in the Gospel of John. He was speaking to his disciples at that point promising them the presence of the Holy Spirit who would remind them of all Jesus said and did. At the end of Matthew, the Risen Christ promises, “I am with you always even to the end of the age…” and this is the foundation of a trust-filled life of Christian discipleship.

We are fast approaching the period of time in the church year known as Lent. There are many opinions about what people should do with Lent or if it should even be acknowledged at all. The best thing we can do with Lent is accept it as a period of time for renewing our focus on what God has done for us in Christ and gain a renewed attitude of trust in God. That’s ultimately what is behind the idea of “giving something up” for Lent or the idea of practicing better spiritual disciplines during the weeks of the season. The principle is: Trust in God!

The Lenten season will begin on March 9^th, Ash Wednesday with a worship service here at First Presbyterian at 6:30 PM. May the period of time be one in which you deepen your trust in God, even if you seem to be having bad luck!

-Pastor Jason Cunningham