September 2021
Connection is Everything
One of the greatest struggles for society when the pandemic hit was not social distancing, but physical distancing. People were refraining from exchanging handshakes, hugs, and sitting close for dinner in a restaurant. Local and small businesses suffered because people were staying home and shopping on-line. Organizational operations were forced to pivot to remote work. Parents became parents and teachers, as students were not allowed in the classroom.
One thing that did not change was our ability to connect with God. When we connect with God, it ultimately allows us to connect with self and others. Sometimes when we are in prayer, we remember others who are facing sickness, death, poverty, loneliness, homelessness, and we connect with them through prayer. We then follow-up with a phone call, a text message, or a Facebook post. What happens is a chain reaction.
It is imperative that we stay connected with God. Connection is what we are designed for. In the core of our being, we have a longing for feeling whole, connected, being loved. Colossians 2:1-5 (English Standard Version) states it this way, “For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, 2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. 5 For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.
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Loose Connections
In a seminary missions’ class, Herbert Jackson told how, as a new missionary, he was assigned a car that would not start without a push. After pondering his problem, he devised a plan. He went to the school near his home, got permission to take some children out of class, and had them push his car off. As he made his rounds, he would either park on a hill or leave the engine running. He used this ingenious procedure for two years.
Ill health forced the Jackson family to leave, and a new missionary came to that station. When Jackson proudly began to explain his arrangement for getting the car started, the new man began looking under the hood. Before the explanation was complete, the new missionary interrupted, “Why, Dr. Jackson, I believe the only trouble is this loose cable.” He gave the cable a twist, stepped into the car, pushed the switch, and to Jackson’s astonishment, the engine roared to life.
For two years, needless trouble had become routine. The power was there all the time. Only a loose connection kept Jackson from putting that power to work. (SOURCE: Ernest B. Beevers.)
J.B. Phillips paraphrases Ephesians l:19-20, “How tremendous is the power available to us who believe in God.” When we make firm our connection with God, his life and power flow through us.
Let us examine God’s power demonstrated before us in today’s verses and available to us as we seek after God’s “good and perfect will” around us [SOURCE: Bruce Landry].
My Best For Your Best!
Brenda Alton, CEO