Certainty in these uncertain times?

Dear Friends,

As some of you may know, I work in the world of IT/financial service. Like most IT service providers whether it’s Ebay or Cloud services they try to control change. There are only two types of change in IT, planned and unplanned. The unplanned are when something goes wrong and even the planned ones can have negative effects. The change cycle is “where you are -> where do you want to go -> how do you get there?” You may be thinking “great but if I wanted a lesson in IT I’d ask”. The reason for mentioning this is that you all know the Church and society are going through some of the biggest changes for a few generations.

The changes we are facing to the way we worship and live are unprecedented. Change which has been forced on to us can be difficult and lead to anxiety. I was lucky enough to be able to attend the Church service on Wednesday the 7th of October. It was about as different as you could get. Sitting apart and being ushered in and out, briefly seeing people from behind face masks. No coffee and greeting friends in the way we should. I would like to thank Lucy and Vivien for a very touching and warm service. There is of course one thing that doesn’t change, we were worshipping our Lord God and creator.

The Bible has a lot to say about change. Jesus came to save us by changing us.

Deuteronomy 31:6 ESV
“Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”

1 Corinthians 15:51 ESV
“Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.”

1 Peter 5:7 ESV
“Casting all your anxieties on Him, because he cares for you.”

There is a saying that the only true constant is that everything is subject to change. As Christians we know God’s love for us will never change. Jesus came to change the world through service and we as Christians are here to do the same. We must trust in the Lord that we can meet the challenges and hope we reflect a small amount of the love He has for us. We do not know where these changes will end or what society will be like then or if they will ever end, but the Good Lord does, He knows.

I personally have faced a lot of change. It is all too easy to shake your fist at the sky and shout “WHY?” but that is the wrong question. The question should be “I’m here Lord, what would you have me do?”. As I’m writing this, autumn is definitely here; the nights are drawing in, the leaves on the trees are falling, but it is with the sure knowledge that after winter, there will be the new life of spring.

Hope to see you all soon.

John Sinclair