None of us likes change.

Sure, there are good changes like getting a raise at work, moving into your dream house, or making a “C” in your first semester college biology instead of the “F” you had at mid-term (just saying, that last one could happen). But other changes aren’t so good like losing your job, receiving a serious diagnosis, or experiencing the unexpected death of a loved one. 

Good or bad, all change brings with it new circumstances and some uncertainty. Given the choice, most of us prefer to do what we’ve always done, it’s comfortable. And we like to know what’s coming around the next corner, especially the planners and list-makers among us. 

There’s been a lot of change in our lives in 2020. Some we expected, but many we did not. Of all this year’s unexpected changes, the COVID-19 pandemic looms largest! All of our lives have been changed in multiple ways because of the pandemic. That change has brought uncertainty. And uncertainty can bring with it stress, anxiety, and even fear. 

Right now, there’s a lot of fear in the air.

But there’s always been fear in the world. In the Bible we see the phrase “Don’t be afraid” over one hundred times. And if you’re wondering why not fear, as pastor and writer Adam Hamilton says, the Bible’s answer is relentlessly consistent, “because God is with us!”

She will give birth to a son, and you will call him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. Now all of this took place so that what the Lord had spoken through the prophet would be fulfilled: Look! A virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will call him, Emmanuel. Emmanuel means “God with us.” (Matthew 1: 21-23, CEB)

And that my friends is really Good News!

Your partner on the journey,

Pastor Steve