God is with us at all times

Sunday morning, Nov. 18, I preached a message entitled, “Stick With the Plan” based on the book of Esther. One of the points I made was that God has you where you are to fulfill His will in your life, to bless others and to bring honor and glory to Him.

Esther was at the right place (she was Queen to King Xerxes) at exactly the right time (when Haaman threatened to wipe out the Jewish nation) to fulfill her purpose (to stop Haaman from doing this) to bring honor and glory to God (which she did). Did she want to be in that position? I don’t believe she did. (Esther 4:15)

I am sure she knew that her life was on the line as she went before the King to ask that he not wipe out the Jewish nation. So why did she go? Because she knew what God’s plan was for her life and she carried it out. She was able to “Stick With The Plan” and when she did, God blessed her, the Jewish nation was saved, and God was honored. The teaching point here is: even when you can’t see Him…He is right there.

Last week, I mentioned that we would experience the “storms of life.” They blow into everyone’s life. We experience the pain of death, divorce, disease, sickness, loss of a job, etc. Almost every day, something happens in our lives to remind us that we live in a sinful world and the result of sin are the storms of life. The times when our friends walk out on us, when it seems like no one cares. The difficult times, where when we pray to God and it seems like even He isn’t there for us. The times when we feel like our prayers don’t get past the ceiling and if they do, they fall on deaf ears.

Here’s another truth from the book of Esther: look for God, even when you can’t see Him. That’s right, God is always there and He cares about you. He is always “behind the scenes” working to bring good out of all the things we experience in our lives. (Romans 8:28)

This has been a very difficult week for my family. As I type this article, tears are flowing down my cheeks. Monday, we had to put our yellow lab to sleep. Casey had been with us for the past 12 years. We had him since he was a puppy. Yellow labs like to chew, did you know that? He chewed up everything he could get his teeth into. We had many wonderful times together. He loved going for a walk and chasing after the squirrels. He would go out on the pontoon boat with us and bark at the ducks. He loved to bark at the ducks. And he loved going for a ride in the car. Those big, floppy yellow ears blowing in the wind. He was “Casey — the Wonder dog.”

It was a very difficult decision to make. But he was suffering and we didn’t want that. So, while I held his head in my hands as he drew his last breath, I was reminded that “even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, God is with us. He sees us through the difficult times of life. We will get through this. Time will heal our wounded hearts. And, even when we can’t see Him, God is right there, walking with us through the storms of life.

We love you, Casey boy.

Pastor Thad Gifford is the founding and lead pastor of the Crossroads Community Church, 62 E. Second St., London. He can be reached at (740) 852-7800, e-mail him at sermon8er@aol.com or at their website www.3c-church.org.