Do Not Worry

My dear Willowdale Church Family, Pastor Jake, here taking the keyboard to wish you a happy mid-week and share with you a little thought to put things “in perspective.”

What is happening today is something that I believe no one expected to happen, but it is here. I am, of course, talking about the spread of COVID-19. We need to live and function in this new reality. I wish I could tell you that we will soon return to our old ways, but it is clear that this outbreak is going to impact our way of life going forward. We all remember September 11; the same thing will happen here.

But by God’s grace, we have options. When, as a Mechanical Technician, I used
to create technical drawings, I would draw three views: front, side, and top-down, and I always loved this last one because it gave me a greater perspective. The other views have their value, but the latter is my favorite because it helps me see the bigger picture.

When we look at our lives, I believe that a top-down perspective can help us gain knowledge and wisdom. It can also help us to see the beauty that the other perspectives tend to obfuscate. It reminds me of what God shared in His Word in 1 Corinthians 2:10-15, which tells us that His perspective is awesome and that, as His people, we ought to look at life from HIS perspective. To help us achieve that, He gave us His Holy Spirit, who knows the “deep things of God.” We are given the privilege to see life from God’s view. I can enjoy His view and have peace in the middle of the storm.

And so, while we are in this storm, while we know that it will be hard and tumultuous, we have God’s perspective that supplies us with promises of His presence, support, and provision. Did he not say, “DO NOT WORRY”
(Matthew 6:25)? Well, my dear family, we have received a gift in the form of God’s ultimate love through his Son Jesus Christ, who provides us with the ultimate perspective. He is real and ready for us. He is just a call away, and He asks us to claim His promises.

I am sharing this with you to encourage you and also to tell you that you are not alone. Your family is with you and your church family also by your side. We might not be able to use our building and physically worship together, but we’ll find a way to spend time together, and I am excited to announce a couple of initiatives:

• We are planning to have Sabbath School Classes through Zoom, a web conferencing tool, which will give us the possibility to engage in discussions. The Sabbath School Superintendent, sister Claudette, is looking into facilitators. Sabbath School will take place at 10:30 a.m. Please be ready
• The main service will start at 11:30. It will be shorter than usual with an abridged program and the sermon. This Sabbath, I will lead us in a message entitled “DO NOT WORRY” based on Matthew 6:25-34. It’s a great passage to explore.

Get ready… Sabbath is approaching, and you do not have to spend it alone. Come and join us. More information will follow. Stay tuned.

Pastor Jagos Ivanovic, on behalf of the pastoral team
Willowdale Seventh Day Adventist Church