Believe the Love Story

J and I go to a great church. The church family is welcoming and encouraging, the pastor is a wonderful preacher and counselor, and they have a great choir. We started attending there in October and just finished our membership class recently.

Yesterday morning our Pastor was on fire while preaching. He was preaching on the scripture from Mark 4:35-41...the story of Jesus calming the storm. His title was "Have You Still No Faith?" related to the question Jesus asked the disciples because they were afraid and concerned about their safety during the storm. They had been with Jesus through so many things and yet they still were afraid of what might happen and unsure of the outcome.

I admit this makes me feel better about my own faith. If the men who walked on earth with Jesus and knew first hand of God's love had concerns and doubt then me having doubt is normal right? Pastor C went on to talk about how God is with us in the storms of life...both the literal hurricanes that hit our area but more importantly the storms of life that aren't predicted. The loss of a job, financial struggles, the loss of a loved one, a child gone astray, difficulties in marriage, divorce, etc those are also storms in our life and God is with us. I needed this sermon. I have a great life...I have my faith, I have a wonderful family, I have a good job, I have an amazing boyfriend, I have a great group of friends, etc. I am not in a major storm. I have been through some in my life but not right now. I am however in a minor storm. And I realized that I need to have faith. I need to trust that God is there and will be there. Life will be fine. God has never let me down and I don't see it happening now. I have faith. For some this sounds cliched. For me this is a fact. I don't know how you do it without God. I don't want to find out.

Pastor C gave the following quote as a summary of his sermon..."Faith is not a human action but it is a reaction to the love of God." God wants us to believe the Love Story. God loves us...because God loves us we have faith. All love begins with God. My love for others is a reflection of God's love for me.

I am loved. I have faith. I love others. God loves you.