What a crazy Thanksgiving weekend it was for our family. Perhaps you can relate? Not only did I miss the big Thanksgiving dinner, I missed gathering with you! I did, however, take time to stop, remember and reflect on how blessed we are as a family, and as a community of believers.

We have so much to be grateful for, don’t we? Grateful for all God has done, and will continue to do in our lives and yet even set amid the plethora of grateful thoughts and expressions toward God, we still doubt, don’t we?

As I hear of the number of Covid cases rising, the upcoming election in the States, the racial hatred demonstrated here in our own backyard….it is overwhelming.

Sometimes I wonder, how is it that the world seems to be unravelling? Where is God?

Do you ever doubt? I know that there are some of you who don’t. You have a deep trust and faith that, at times, defies understanding. I used to think you were naive, or maybe a little phony but I don’t think that now. Now, I believe that you are blessed, no rather, I believe that you are gifted with faith... and that is an amazing gift.

But there are others of us who wonder...where is God when a loved one gets sick, or when a relationship falls apart? Where is God as I pray for the starving children, or the senseless wars in other parts of the world? Where is God in the midst of the crazy?

Do you remember the story of the disciples when they were in the boat, Jesus was on the mountainside praying, and storm came in?

As the wind billows and the waves beat against the boat, Jesus came to them walking on the water. And we read that “they were terrified” (Matthew 14: 22-33). In the midst of the unknown, the uncertainty, the fear and the struggle, it is obvious by reading Matthew’s account that the disciples were not expecting what they saw. In fact, because Jesus came in a way they didn’t expect, they almost missed seeing the answer to their prayers.

Maybe that is true for us as well, in the midst of our doubts and questions, unless we look and listen closely, we may risk making the same mistake.

God is present, even in the midst of our doubt, even in the midst of the crazy, if only we’ll look. God is closer than you think!

Join us this week as we conclude our 6 part series entitled, Optimism in the Midst of the Crazy. Tune in, doubt and all, and let’s look for God together!