A note to those who receive The Milk Can but are not part of Hope:
As we seek to understand and find the best platforms to support the people of Hope, the church Laura and I pastor, through this very unique time in our country, I have made the decision to make use of The Milk Can as a place to share and post our regular updates to our congregation. With that said, please know you will start to receive more “in house” messages than in the past, and more frequent ones. If you feel like your inbox is getting clogged please know it is okay to unsubscribe. At the bottom of every message are the instructions. Stay safe, stay well, never lose hope in the Kingdom of God. – Stephen
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Dear Friends,
In Joshua 3 and 4 the people of Israel, after forty years of wandering in the desert, walk across the Jordan River on dry ground into the Promised Land for the first time as a nation. Before the waters returned to their flow Joshua chose twelve men to each go into the center of the river and carry out a large rock. These stones were set up as a memorial to future generations of God’s faithfulness to his people. Faith is not an abstract wish or unfounded hope that things will become better. Faith is founded in experience. When future generations were tempted to question if God really cared about his people they could always look back to the twelve stones to remind them that their faith in God had a solid foundation. At least that was the plan. We know that in a short while the people lost their memory of God and turned to their own ways. They doubt the God who delivered them and placed their dependence in other nations, other gods, and themselves.
Daily we hear the message that these are unprecedented times for our nation. I do believe these are unprecedented times for these generations, but they are not unprecedented times for our nation and for humanity. We have faced times of scarcity in the past. We have felt the weariness and tension of extended anxiety. We have felt helpless before. We have faced sickness and death. We have known darkness, fear, and doubt. And we have experienced hope and light on the other side. We have known that God is good and loving.
I believe, part of the challenge we are facing today, as a nation, is that we have lost the collective memory of the faithfulness of God. The twelve stones have become worn with time and their story forgotten that God is faithful in the days, weeks, months, and years of waiting. I know we all want to get back to normal. I believe we are only just beginning this journey through darkness. There are those, though, who can teach us how to walk it. Some around us have stories to tell us. To give us hope. Many refugees know what it is like to suffer long and experience the provision of God. Families who have sent their sons and daughters off to war know the unrelenting anxiety and worry waiting for that which they dread the most. They can teach us the experience of joy in the morning and God’s mercy in loss. And there are others who can teach us. Perhaps even you have a story you would be willing to share with others of faith in the darkest of times?
Before I close this message I want to suggest one book to you to read. The book is The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom. It is a story of hard faith in the long dark days of WWII.
Blessings,
Stephen