“You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies. Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you.”
2 Corinthians 4:5-12 NLT
There are plenty of reasons to say 2020 has been a pretty sucky year. We’ve had this pandemic. As I like to put it outside has been closed almost all year. At this point I’m sure we’ve all managed to deal with that to some degree by now. We’re about 8 or 9 months in to what has become our new normal. Then we’ve also had the deaths of some giants. The Black Mamba Kobe Bryant, Ruth Bader Ginsberg aka RBG and recently the Black Panther Chadwick Boseman.
Again, plenty of reasons to take this whole year and throw the baby out with the bath water. People losing jobs, businesses shutting down and people dying from COVID-19. It’s been bad. But even in the worst of times God always leaves a strand of hope. There is a resiliency that lives deep down inside of every human being that I believe is God given. There are some people who give up before really being able to tap into it. They stop just short of this reserve to persevere. They fail not because they lacked resources, but because they lacked determination to continue when things got hard.
God created man. He was a lifeless shell until God breathed into him the breath of life. At that moment man’s possibilities became endless. We were endowed with God on the inside of us to live a life of purpose. Life is and always will be hard, but we have been given the strength by God to endure through that hardness. When we try to do this without or apart from God we stack the deck against ourselves, but with God all things are possible.
Because of the fall of man we are all born in sin and shaped in iniquity. Because of the grace of God and His gift of salvation through Christ we can be redeemed and live this life walking in the image and likeness God as originally intended. We have to dig deep within ourselves and lean on the everlasting arms of God find the strength to push through.
God has gifted you to do things that only you can do. Sing, play, create, build, run your business or whatever it is. You are the person and the time is now. If not you, then who? If not now, then when? Use this time of less distractions to dig in and cultivate the work God is trying to do in and through you. Selah.
That’s my lead into this week’s Throwback Theology Song of the week. This from L.P.G. (Dax Reynosa & Jurny Big) of the legendary Tunnel Rats. It’s from his 2003 album called “The Gad Fly.” The featured song is called “Liquid.” Make sure to tune in to the Trackstarz show this Saturday live on YouTube at 12pm EST. Also, check out the Go DEAF Podcast (@godeafpodcast) is OUT NOW!! More episodes coming soon. Until next time…
Peace and blessings,
Damo
L.P.G. – “Liquid”
