2485 Lost Mountain Road, Wirtz VA

Church #165 is an online service again this week, and it was such a blessing to join Halesford Baptist Church for their livestream.

This week has been one of the hardest I have had in quite some time since losing my mom. There are moments where it feels like everything around me is falling apart all at once, and even though I know in my heart that God is good and His plans are good, it can still be so hard to see the path ahead when you are standing in the middle of challenge after challenge.

That is where I have been. Trying to keep going. Trying to keep trusting. Trying to keep laying my worries at the feet of Jesus. Trying to remind my own soul that even when I feel like I cannot stand, God is still carrying me.

And I know He is.

The sermon began in John chapter 15, with the title “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” The pastor began by sharing that we have a command from God to love one another. Not a suggestion, not an optional part of the Christian life. A command.

And not only are we commanded to love, but we are also called to be tenderhearted, kind, and forgiving. It’s not easy. When your heart is hurting, when life feels unfair, when you are worried and worn down, tenderness does not always come naturally. Kindness can take effort. Forgiveness can feel impossible. But still, this is what we are called to. We are called to love God and love one another.

In the middle of my own sorrow, I still want everything in my life to point to Jesus. I do not want grief to make me hard. I do not want pain to make me bitter. I do not want worry to drown out love. I want people to see Christ in me by the way I love others, by the way I stay tender even when life has been rough, by the way I keep showing grace even when my own heart is aching.

That is not something I can do apart from Him.

Because without Christ, we are nothing. Without Christ, we are just as filthy rags. Without Christ, all our striving, all our goodness, all our effort falls short. We need Christ. We need His Spirit. We need His love flowing through us.

He is the Good Shepherd who leads us beside still waters and restores our souls.

Grief drains the soul. Worry drains the soul. Trying to hold everything together drains the soul. But Jesus restores us. He leads us gently. He brings stillness to places in us that have been storming for too long. He shepherds us in ways that no human being ever could.

There are times lately when I feel as though I cannot see the next few steps ahead of me. There are times when I know God is faithful, but I still feel afraid. There are times when I know I should not worry, and yet I do.

And yet even in that, God keeps reminding me that He is my Shepherd. He is not asking me to figure everything out before I follow Him. He is asking me to trust Him while He leads. He is asking me to keep choosing worship over worry, love over fear, tenderness over hardness, forgiveness over bitterness, kindness over self-protection.

Love is obedience. Love is surrender. Love is the evidence that Jesus is really doing something in us. Love is what points the world back to Him.

People will see Christ in us by the way we love others.

What a challenge.
What a conviction.
What a calling.

I want that to be true of my life. I want the way I love, the way I speak, the way I respond, the way I endure hardship, the way I treat people when I am hurting, to all point back to Jesus. I do not always get it right. I am still grieving. I am still worried. I am still learning. But even in the middle of all of that, I want my life to say, “He is still good. He is still here. He is still worth following.”

Love has everything to do with it. Everything. Because if I can worship and not love, I have missed everything. If I can speak of Jesus and not reflect His tenderness, I have missed everything. If I can talk about faith but not forgive, not show kindness, not remain softhearted before God, then I have missed the heart of the command!

So in the middle of one of the hardest weeks I have had in some time, I thank God for a message that reminded me of what matters most. Even while my heart feels weak, His love is strong. Even while I cannot always see the path ahead, I know the Shepherd is still leading me.

Thank you to Halesford Baptist Church for such a meaningful online service and for the reminder that love is not optional. Thank you for the worship, the Word, and the comfort of being pointed again to Christ, the Good Shepherd who restores our souls and teaches us how to love as He loves.

And as always, I cannot wait to see where the Holy Spirit leads next week.

When life feels like it is falling apart, when grief feels heavy, when worry is loud, and when the path ahead feels hidden, Jesus is still the Good Shepherd. He is still leading. He is still restoring. He is still teaching us to love. And if we stay close to Him, even in the hardest weeks, our lives can still point to Jesus.

Love you all,

Annie Stewart Lambert