Let it Be

“When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me, speaking words of wisdom, Let it be.”

I listened to the Beatles song “Let It Be” recently, and I could feel my body relax and a sense of calm come over me. (If you want to give it a try, I’ve made it easy for you by providing a Youtube link to the song below.)

We all need a little peace these days. Frustration is high, fear of the unknown is way up there; we’re anxious and stressed and weary. We’ve been trying to be all things for all people, and we’re chasing after things over which we have no control.

And we long for words of comfort. For someone to tell us that everything is going to be all right.

God is speaking His words of wisdom to us in the darkness: Trust me. Be still and know that I am God. Rest in my provision and mercy for today, knowing that I will provide new mercies for you tomorrow. Let go and let some things just be. I have you and this whole world in my steady hands, so look to me.

“And when the broken hearted people living in the world agree, there will be an answer. Let it be. For though they may be parted there is still a chance that they will see, there will be an answer. Let it be.”

The song shifts its focus to all the sad and angry people who cannot agree. And we recognize ourselves in these words. We’re surrounded by division, and we’re struggling to be kind and loving to each other.

But there’s a message of hope: the hope of reconciliation and peace. And let it be means let it come. Let this new life begin to take hold. “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”

In Christ, we are new creations and the Holy Spirit is continually working within us, empowering us to take the good news of this new life in Christ out into the world. And we can wait expectantly and joyfully for the coming of God’s Kingdom here on earth, where there will be no more pain, no more suffering, no more division. We will be united in Christ.

“And when the night is cloudy there is still a light that shines on me. Shine until tomorrow. Let it be.”

During the darkest of the dark nights, we have the light of Jesus shining down on us and through us. “And the light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it.”

“There will be an answer. Let it be.”

To listen to the song on Youtube:

https://youtu.be/atLK2RIZzWk

When I drive up to the church, I will often pull into the commuter lot and go through the front parking lot.  This morning, I noticed a few men working on the area near the cross and flame that is on the side of the Recreation Outreach Center (ROC).   Work began a couple of weeks ago to repair some of the siding.  You may recall that the panels around the cross had been damaged over the years.  There were multiple indentions and holes in it.  The worn out panels have been replaced.  What you see in the picture are new insolation and interior panels.  As I drove by, my first thought was that this is a sign of hope and so I took picture to share with you.

In this time when we are not able to gather together as we would like, we are restoring certain sections of our building.  In this season when there is uncertainty about what will happen in the United Methodist Church, there is restorative work being done all around the cross and the flame, the official cross of our denomination.

It is interesting to be doing all of this work on a church building when we haven’t been able to gather for worship in our building since March 8.  It some ways it seems crazy to being doing all of this work on a church building when there has been this incredible unplanned shift in our church’s ministry in the past several months.  This is not nearly as crazy as the time when the prophet Jeremiah bought a field when the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem. The people were being exiled and they would be away for some time, yet Jeremiah hears the call from the Lord to buy the field.  That is an incredible act of hope, buying a field in the anticipation of a return, buying a field for what will be even when their present circumstances were extremely difficult.

Seeing this restorative work, gives me hope in this prolonged season of dealing with all that has come with living through this pandemic. We are not where we want to be.  We are experiencing difficult times.  Plans have changed and changed again.  We wonder what church life, family life, school life look like in the months to come. I don’t have an answer, but in this picture, I have a sign of hope of restoration, promises of a return and of what will be.

The story of Jeremiah buying a field can be found in Jeremiah 32.  At the end of the chapter we read about the future restoration of Jerusalem and return of the people.  I encourage you to read this chapter this week.

Friends, may this picture be a sign of hope for us.  Join me in praying for our congregation as we spend this time waiting for what will be.

A good word today from Joyce Dantzler:

Lightning Bugs

The eyes of the Lord are in every place. Proverbs 15:3

Summer evenings are so peaceful especially when it is cloudy and overcast, making it darker than usual. This is when I look for lightning bugs.

One evening when sitting on our deck, a lightning bug flew near my face and briefly lit up. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I saw more lightning bugs. Suddenly the yard seemed filled up with little specks of light. I thought if it had not been so dark, I would have missed them.

In his word, Jesus promised that we would experience trial and hardships.  Life holds seasons of darkness and this can be scary. For a Christ follower, however, it is never a complete darkness. Again and again in scriptures, God promised to never leave us. We do not need to be afraid. We just need to pause and give our eyes a chance to adjust, seeking those little specks of light. We can be confident that they are there because He has promised that He is always there for us

Once we stop focusing on the dark, we will begin to see glimmers of light everywhere. We will see Him in a way that we might have missed if it had not been so dark.

Prayer:  The darkness would be a scary place, Lord, if You were not in it. When I’m tempted to focus on the dark, help me to see the light instead and know that You are in every place until the end of time. Amen