From : Pastor of Union Missionary Baptist Church

Good Day Union Baptist Family,

Life is hard. But you already know this. From paying bills to trying to make enough money to dealing with people who can seem like enemies, life can be very hard.

However, there are times when life just feels completely unbearable to the point where you feel like giving up. There are times like the one we are in, politically, when the future looks so dire. The struggle becomes too real, when hope is hard to have and optimism is not the norm. When you are attacked and persecuted for simply being, it is hard to have hope and it hard to have peace. In the midst of trouble, your innate response as a human is fight or flight; with every fiber of your being, you are called to actively resist either by fleeing or fighting back. In this country, it is a peculiar time when people are spewing hate for people who are simply different than them. In times like these, it is hard to have peace.

It is in these times that we have no choice, but look to the Word of God, the promises of God, in how we are to respond. In the Gospel of John, there is a promise that we all should remember: “I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world.” (John 16:33) Here, Jesus promises that in Him, we have the formula to resist all Hell that is breaking loose. Jesus doesn’t promise that we will not cry. He doesn’t promise that we will not have to fight. He doesn’t promise that we will not fear for our lives. But, he does promise that we must take courage, for to be in Christ is to conquer the world. In Christ, we have all that we need to be at peace and not let the troubles of this world shake our core.

If our foundation be Christ, we can experience the peace of God which surpasses understanding. When the rest of the world has fear and uncertainty, we as Christians have the hope in knowing that just as Christ has overcome the world, we too can. We can overcome poverty. We can overcome sickness. We can overcome brokenness. We can overcome any and everything that may stand in the way of an abundant and divinely connected life. Truly, we can have peace in the midst of the storm, when we trust in God.

Keep Hope alive,

Rev. Dr. Larry D. Walston Sr.

Pastor

Welcome To Union Missionary Baptist Church

“Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;” -Romans 12:12

I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord. - Psalm 122:1