Life has no certainties. Our world has changed drastically in the past few days. We have gone from life as usual to people scrambling around trying to decide what is coming next. Crises can be tough. In the fog of a crisis it can be hard to see anything good that God might be doing. Whether the health of your family is threatened, finances are at risk, relationships are pressured from the uncertainty you face, or your world has been turned upside down, crisis is a time of self evaluation. It is difficult to think clearly during these uncertain times, but God invites us to rely on His promises. (Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you or forsake you.) Crisis often causes us to seek to connect with God in ways that we have never considered before. Health, family, jobs, finance, and our future can persuade us to negotiate with God like never before. Is that really so bad to lean on God? God is a God of crisis. He tells us that connecting and relying on Him is the only way to go through these times with peace and certainty in our lives. (John 15:5 I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.) Sacrifice, suffering, isolation and uncertainty are all tough times to live through. God tells us that if we are connected to him like branches of a vine we will have LIFE in times of crisis. Our lives will be far richer if we are connected with him instead of drifting through this time on our own. The point is not that the crisis we are facing is not bad; it’s that being connected to Jesus Christ is good. Sometimes God uses the blinding fog of a crisis to help us find him. God has been through these things before. Pastor Don [image: image.png]