“Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their land from my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?’” 2 Kings 18:35
He taunted and intimidated. He bragged and boasted. His name was Rabshakeh, first in command of King Sennacherib’s army laying siege to Jerusalem during the reign of Hezekiah. His voice echoed off the walls and ramparts of Jerusalem-City of Zion as he sought to instill fear and dread. Why fight God’s people when you can melt their hearts into surrender through fear. God’s people had to make a choice-give in to Rabshakeh’s intimidating voice or trust the God of all the Earth, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to deliver them once again. They chose to trust God and he delivered. He always does!
There are seasons of life when God allows an enemy to assault our soul. Times when fear, depression and anxiety seem to have the upper hand. The voice of the enemy is loud and echoes throughout the corridors of our heart- “Why trust in God; He cannot or will not deliver you!” Rabshakeh still taunts…but we don’t have to listen to him nor give in to his intimidation. We can instead listen to the voice of our Shepherd, who by His Word and Spirit make it possible to overcome the enemies of our soul. This is not a passive struggle however! We must intentionally put aside everything that hinders our relationship with Jesus, take up the sword of Spirit (the Bible) and pray, pray, pray. Victory has already been won for us through Christ’s substitutionary atonement but we must put on the armor and run the race. You and I are not strong enough to defeat the enemies of our soul-only Jesus can and He delights to do this as we meditate upon His Word and link arms with in one or two other brothers or sisters in Christ. The Guardian of our Souls is as strong as ever- He will overcome whatever taunting enemy threatens your peace today! Let’s keep looking to Him- pressing in and praying hard. Charles and I, as well our deacons, stand ready to assist you as you ignore one voice and listen to Another’s.
On a different note, last time I wrote to you, our expectation was that June 7th would be the Sunday we resumed in-house worship on campus. The only caveats were a new directive by Davis County Health or a rise in the number of people testing positive for COVID-19. Sadly, the second of those caveats has become reality. After collaborating with our Church Council and with two of our members who are professional health care workers (Charlie Caton and Lauri Linder), Charles and I have decided to postpone our in-person worship another two weeks to June 21st. For the sake of our members’ health and safety, as well as any guests who may attend, we believe the wisest move is to err on the side of caution. We believe pushing back the reopening date will help us better gauge whether this most recent spike in viral infections is a prelude to a new wave of infections (due to Memorial Day weekend activities and increased travel activity) or just a blip on the screen.
We realize this is very disappointing news to some and we feel your frustrations. We hope you will see this as another opportunity to deepen our dependency upon God while separated. Life Groups and SS classes continue to explore creative ways to fellowship either through virtual meetings or in person with social distancing. If you are not plugged into a group and want to be, or if you have any other questions, please call the church office and we will help you (801-771-3204). Please know that we will continue to have live streaming services through our website every Sunday morning at 10:30. God has a plan, MV! He knows what He is doing and we look to Him for our strength and joy in the days ahead.
YBIC,
Darrell
He taunted and intimidated. He bragged and boasted. His name was Rabshakeh, first in command of King Sennacherib’s army laying siege to Jerusalem during the reign of Hezekiah. His voice echoed off the walls and ramparts of Jerusalem-City of Zion as he sought to instill fear and dread. Why fight God’s people when you can melt their hearts into surrender through fear. God’s people had to make a choice-give in to Rabshakeh’s intimidating voice or trust the God of all the Earth, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to deliver them once again. They chose to trust God and he delivered. He always does!
There are seasons of life when God allows an enemy to assault our soul. Times when fear, depression and anxiety seem to have the upper hand. The voice of the enemy is loud and echoes throughout the corridors of our heart- “Why trust in God; He cannot or will not deliver you!” Rabshakeh still taunts…but we don’t have to listen to him nor give in to his intimidation. We can instead listen to the voice of our Shepherd, who by His Word and Spirit make it possible to overcome the enemies of our soul. This is not a passive struggle however! We must intentionally put aside everything that hinders our relationship with Jesus, take up the sword of Spirit (the Bible) and pray, pray, pray. Victory has already been won for us through Christ’s substitutionary atonement but we must put on the armor and run the race. You and I are not strong enough to defeat the enemies of our soul-only Jesus can and He delights to do this as we meditate upon His Word and link arms with in one or two other brothers or sisters in Christ. The Guardian of our Souls is as strong as ever- He will overcome whatever taunting enemy threatens your peace today! Let’s keep looking to Him- pressing in and praying hard. Charles and I, as well our deacons, stand ready to assist you as you ignore one voice and listen to Another’s.
On a different note, last time I wrote to you, our expectation was that June 7th would be the Sunday we resumed in-house worship on campus. The only caveats were a new directive by Davis County Health or a rise in the number of people testing positive for COVID-19. Sadly, the second of those caveats has become reality. After collaborating with our Church Council and with two of our members who are professional health care workers (Charlie Caton and Lauri Linder), Charles and I have decided to postpone our in-person worship another two weeks to June 21st. For the sake of our members’ health and safety, as well as any guests who may attend, we believe the wisest move is to err on the side of caution. We believe pushing back the reopening date will help us better gauge whether this most recent spike in viral infections is a prelude to a new wave of infections (due to Memorial Day weekend activities and increased travel activity) or just a blip on the screen.
We realize this is very disappointing news to some and we feel your frustrations. We hope you will see this as another opportunity to deepen our dependency upon God while separated. Life Groups and SS classes continue to explore creative ways to fellowship either through virtual meetings or in person with social distancing. If you are not plugged into a group and want to be, or if you have any other questions, please call the church office and we will help you (801-771-3204). Please know that we will continue to have live streaming services through our website every Sunday morning at 10:30. God has a plan, MV! He knows what He is doing and we look to Him for our strength and joy in the days ahead.
YBIC,
Darrell
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