“The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” Job 1:21b
It has certainly been a year of giving and taking away. For each time we have had something taken away from us, we have also seen that God has given us something back. We had our freedom to go out restricted, but because of that we got to spend more time with our family. People had to adapt to working from home and though it wasn't easy, our companies have seen an increase in productivity. In a time when the physical church was closed, we have seen our congregation grow.
How is this possible? I remember seeing a cartoon shared online where the devil was laughing and saying to God that he has closed all the churches during the COVID-19 pandemic, so now what? God calmly laughs and responds by saying that He has now made every house in the world a church.
Now, not only can members of MPCC attend church physically, they can also attend our service online. Anyone from anywhere in the world can now be a part of our weekly worship service, and every service is now evangelistic.
Often, we can't see the bigger picture of what God had intended. Job had no idea why all those horrible things were happening to him, but he continued to hold on to his faith in humility, realising how small he is compared to God's infinite wisdom. Likewise, even though we might not always know the reason for the struggles we face, we can hold on our faith in God because we know that He is all-powerful, all-knowing and all-good, and that even in the things that the Devil had meant for evil, God can turn to good (Genesis 50:20).
So, let us always remember to trust God and hold onto our faith, for blessed be the name of the Lord. No matter what we face, let us continue to pray and trust in our Him, for His ways and plans are always for our good.