Pastor's Corner: 'Don’t forget the gunny sack'
Make sure you take a gunny sack when you go calling, that’s the advice a retired pastor gave me when I first started in ministry.
I just stood there hoping that he would explain. He continued to tell me that when he was a young rural pastor part of his salary was in garden vegetables and chickens. He said that he learned to always carry a gunny sack because if someone offered him a chicken and if he didn’t take it when offered, when he would return for it he would find it had already been made into stew for the farmer and his family. He and his family would be without meat on the table that night.
Needless to say, I never took a gunny sack on my calls. We were lucky enough to be able to go to the grocery store for our meat. Life has changed from then and in fact continues to change. Things we may have thought to be permanent have faded away, yet life goes on. I am happy to write though, one thing that never has and will never change is “God” and His love for us.
I really like to hear the testimonies of people who have experienced life over the years and how God has brought them through some really tough times. How they have clung to His love and have first hand knowledge of his deliverance and power. One of the things that God promises us is that He will never fail those who believe in His Son Jesus Christ. In Isaiah 51:6 it tells that God’s salvation will last forever and that His righteousness will never fail.
I like the contemporary hymns like, “When Peace like a River” or “Onward Christian Soldiers” are sung. They remind us that the testimonies of Christians are ageless. That we are not the only ones who face trials and tragedy and challenges of life. These two hymns not only tell you a story of God and his faithfulness but show us the we can worship Him at any time.
“When Peace like a river” was written in 1873 by Horatio Spafford. It was in the face of great tragedy for him and his wife, yet he never blamed God. It seems that his wife and four daughters were traveling to England by ship and two ships collided and his daughters were lost. When his wife sent home the message “Saved Alone” he traveled toEngland to meet her, and when the ship was approaching the spot where his daughters perished, he wrote the words to the song.
By his faith and testimony, we too can draw strength and encouragement at those times of great need and or loss. Even when we might not understand the reason, we can still find strength in the arms of a loving God.
Another hymn, “Onward Christian Soldiers” was written around 1865 by Sabine Baring-Gould. The story he tells is that he wrote the song for children as they marched to the chapel. It seems that there were two towns close together and on Whitmondy the kids would march together. Whitmondy was a great day for school festivals in Yorkshire. He wanted a song for the kids to march by. Believe it or not he wrote it in 15 minutes. It calls us, as Christians, to service for God and demonstrates that we can worship God anytime and in any situation.
When life seems to be getting you down call upon God, actually call upon God daily and he will not turn His back on you.
This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Pastor's Corner: 'Don’t forget the gunny sack'
