Willis Pond Family BBQ - Marathon 2020
September 6, 2020

This year seems like it will never end. As each of us tries to move through each day and its challenges, it seems like something new and even more ridiculous pops up every time we make a step forward. Sometimes it feels like a marathon - a marathon uphill with a 70 mph headwind. Here’s is a brief recap of things we have seen this year that have altered our way of life and created the “new normal:”

• Australia faced one of its worst fire seasons in history beginning in 2019 and continuing into 2020 — which riveted the world as flames burned a record 47 million acres, displaced thousands of people and killed at least 34. Researchers said the fires also razed rare habitats and killed more than a billion animals.
• After more than three years of deliberation and political turmoil, the United Kingdom officially left the European Union at the end of January.
• January 16 - House impeachment managers read aloud the impeachment articles against Trump, beginning the U.S. Senate trial. It was also this year that Trump delivered his State of the Union address, on Feb. 4, appearing to snub House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as she attempted to shake his hand and Pelosi later ripping up his speech.
• The next day, on Feb. 5, the Senate ultimately voted to acquit Trump on the two articles of impeachment.

• A U.S. airstrike on Jan. 3 killed top Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani and others near Baghdad International Airport. It came after months of incidents raising tensions between the two countries, and ultimately saw Iran retaliate on Jan. 7 with a ballistic missile strike targeting American troops in Iraq. Hours later, on Jan. 8, Iran's Revolutionary Guard accidentally shot down a Ukrainian jetliner after the government had repeatedly denied Western accusations that it was responsible. The crash killed all 176 people aboard.
• NBA legend Kobe Bryant was killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others, on Jan. 26.
• On the same day of Kobe Bryant’s funeral service in Los Angeles, Harvey Weinstein was convicted of rape and sexual assault in New York.
• The Feb. 3 Iowa Democratic caucuses became a disaster of epic proportions after a faulty mobile app and other problems led to a delay in reporting the results and inconsistencies in the numbers. This would lead to a season of mistrust in all election systems, leading to the lowest confidence in elected government since the inception of the democratic process.
• In late February of 2020, The World Health Organization increased its risk assessment of the novel coronavirus to its highest level. The virus, which started in China in December 2019, had by that point spread to dozens of countries. As of June 28: 500,000 confirmed deaths and 10 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 globally.
• US stocks took a major plunge on March 16 amid mounting fears surrounding the coronavirus. The Dow fell a sharp 2,997 points, the biggest drop since 1987.
• One of the most highly anticipated sporting events of the year — the 2020 Summer Olympics — was officially postponed on March 24 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Olympics were set to take place at the end of July of this year in Tokyo, Japan.
• George Floyd was killed on May 25 by a Minneapolis police officer who used his knee to pin Floyd’s neck to the ground. The killing of a Black man at the hands of a white officer touched off protests against racism and police brutality across the United States and around the world, resulting in rioting, chaos, and defunding of police departments.
• Earlier this year, an invasive, predatory insect dubbed the "murder hornet" turned up at Washington state near the Canadian border, sparking panic, as an Asian giant hornet can sting you multiple times and deliver larger doses of venom just because of the size of them, meaning the average human cannot survive multiple stings.
• Hurricane Laura - one of multiple hurricanes ravaging the south, tears through Louisiana causing devastation and loss in an area still recovering from loss not so long ago.

The truth about this year is that unlike a marathon, there may not be a finish line in the way that most hope. Sure - many of the issues we are currently laboring under will resolve, or go away, or become so normal that we adjust. Yet as a country, we have not responded in the best ways to any of these things - and herein lies the problem. As a country, we find ourselves in a situation now where there is little to no respect for leadership of any kind, major division between just about every difference we can find, from race to gender to culture to political belief - if we can agree on anything it is that we feel almost as though it is that we cannot trust anyone.

For me personally, even if none of these things had happened, this would have been a year of some of the greatest upheaval in my life. I started a new career, left a spiritual family with whom I was very close, lived a thousand miles away from my family for multiple months, completed a cross-country move, sold a house, and stepped into a community with a deep history and culture which until this year did not include me or my family. Our kids went to public school for the first time in their lives, more or less, and my wife began working full time outside of the house for the first time in nearly 13 years.

Your story could be very similar. The fact of the matter is that we have all been running this marathon. The good news is that this marathon caused believers to begin to work together, get creative, and prove that church is not about a building. While the world has divided and started only looking to their own individual needs, people of faith saw a banding together that was just as new and different as everything else happening.

This week we remember even more tragedy as we approach the 19th anniversary of the worst terrorist attack on US soil in the history of our country. It causes me to wonder, if another tragedy of that caliber were to happen again this year - would we as a nation band together in the same way we did after 9/11? Or has unity in our country been lost forever? Is that the “New normal?”

I am not here to depress you, to make life seem hopeless. However, it is important for us to really understand our struggles, mistakes, and tragedies so that we have the ability to learn and grow from these things. I began my tenure here in Bevier with a brief series about how God is in control - and it is to this promise I want to turn tonight. 

I have put together, with the help of several articles and other resources on the internet, a list of verses from all over the Bible. As I read each verse, I will explain the good news that comes with the Word - the very substance of our hope in Christ.

2 Timothy 2:11-13

“Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; 13 if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.”

The Good News: God’s faithfulness means that God ALWAYS proves true, always delivers, always answers. Sometimes we do not understand, sometimes we do not see it. Yet He remains faithful.

Exodus 18:23

"God will direct you, you will be able to endure."

The Good News: None of us are traveling on the road to righteousness alone. God shapes our paths so that we are able to get through any challenges that may lie ahead. Many of us have been experiencing this firsthand for some time now.

Galatians 6:9

"And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up."

The Good News: Good things come to those who do good. And, yes, we shouldn't be doing the right thing just for a potential reward. But walking in the Spirit will produce goodness in our sphere of influence, even if we don’t always see the results.

2 Corinthians 4:8

"We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed."

The Good News: Even when it feels like we can't push on anymore, we must remember that nothing can break us forever when we have God in our lives and we pursue Him in all things.

Philippians 4:13

"I can do all things through him who strengthens me."

The Good News: God does not give us tasks that we can't complete. He gives us the strength to endure whatever he sets forth, sometimes by giving us people to help us stand when we cannot.

1 Corinthians 13:7

"Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."

The Good News: This passage refers to God's love and how it will always be there for us when we need it. But it could also refer to the love of our families and friends who provide the support and encouragement to run that next mile in the marathon.

Isaiah 40:29

"He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength."

The Good News: God doesn't just guide us through hard times, he makes us stronger to withstand them. He will not leave us hanging even in the darkest of days.

James 1:12

"Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him."

The Good News: In life, we will face hardships. When we make it to the other side of those struggles, God will be right there beside us — and in fact guiding us along every step of the way.

Proverbs 19:21

"Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand."

The Good News: Nothing perseveres longer than God's plan. No matter who is in the White House, no matter what happens between the divisions of our society, God will be on the throne. 

We know that God’s love is eternal, amazing, and undeserved. This is a love that sent His son to die, to take the blame for our sin, and allow us to be with Him for eternity. This is a love that is present, in our lives, every minute of every day. This is a love that accepts us, welcomes us, and even pursues us even as we return to sin.

COVID doesn’t change the nature of God’s love for us. Riots don’t change the nature of God’s love for us. Politics don’t change the nature of God’s love for us. Romans 8:38-39 makes it clear that nothing separates us from His love. God knows our struggles, and remains in control. And while we have difficulty understanding His plan, we have a hope that is not present in those who do not know Him. 

As a person running the marathon beside you, I want you to know where the finish line is. As a church, we should be pointing out that finish line to every person we meet. We are called to stand up, tell the world of our faith, and invite them to share in our hope in Christ. Today, I want to invite those here who feel like they are running alone to learn where to find the finish line. If you have never accepted Christ as your savior, I would invite you to do so now as we pray.