Dear Faith Family, 

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus, (Philippians 4:6-7). 

True confession: I’m a caramel macchiato junkie.  Coffee without caramel macchiato creamer is well, just coffee.  You guys who drink your coffee black?  Don’t hate.  No judgement necessary.  Anyway, this morning I had a little bit of creamer in a Tupperware container.  Desirous of getting all the “goodie” out of the container and into my cup of coffee, I added a little coffee to the remnants of the creamer in the Tupperware container.  After which I proceeded to shake the volatile mixture, (you know where this is going, right?!).  The next thing I knew there was a small explosion, (you may have felt the tremor this morning!).  The top separated from the container.  And, you guessed it, coffee went everywhere!  I think clothing fabric must have some sort of built in coffee magnet. 

So, here’s the thing, the rest of the story.  Wait, I don’t really know the rest of the story.  In fact, I’m struggling to understand the point of the explosive event at all.  Like, what was that all about?  A little lesson in humility?  A trust test?  A tutorial in how not to handle unstable chemicals?  All of the above? 

It occurs to me that we all encounter “events” in our lives that simply don’t make sense.  To us.  Maybe you’ve uttered the words, “I don’t understand”!  Maybe those words came out more emphatically than an utterance?  Like after a particular phone call?  Or, after the appliance decided to stop working?  Maybe when you didn’t get the job?   

God doesn’t owe us an explanation for what He’s doing in His world.  And He doesn’t promise an explanation, (insert Job here).  In fact, He provides for us in times when we do not understand.  The Lord provides Himself to us instead of understanding.  In Christ, prayer affords for us the peace of God’s presence.  The peace that He is here.  The peace that He does understand.  The peace that He knows what He is doing.  The peace that He can be trusted to run the world that He created.  The peace that He can take care of you.  The peace that you don’t have to understand because you know that He does understand. 

Peaceful in His presence and still smelling explosive coffee, 
Pastor Karl