Dear Church of the Open Bible,
Brittany and I had the opportunity to represent our church at our AGC National Conference this past weekend in Ottawa. It was the 100th Anniversary of the AGC and we were able to celebrate with over 200 other pastors, wives, and other delegates from across Canada. Moments like these are good for providing perspective. There is the encouragement that God’s plan is far bigger than what is going on here in Ponoka. There is the challenge that our unity in that mission matters. And there is the reminder that many on that mission struggle beyond what we can imagine.
Paul was completely honest concerning the affliction he experienced, as well as what those experiences were meant to work in him and those with him.
For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. - 2 Corinthians 1:8b-9
Through affliction, we are forced to rely on God. When our strength is stripped away, where else can we turn but to the Lord? It is a joy to meet with others labouring to make disciples, but it is often a sober celebration. That’s because the labour is done in weakness and through affiliation.
Where are you at today? Are you clinging to your strength, or are you far beyond it? Relying on yourself or relying on God, who raises the dead?