Message from Betsy Murphy
My name is Betsy, and I am privileged to serve on the Executive leadership team at Restore Church I want to thank you all for the support and love that you have been giving out in the community. Letters of encouragement, deliveries of essentials , drive-bys for birthdays, shopping for the vulnerable and helping feed those who are struggling. rGroup leaders…you are AMAZING! Thank you for being a lifeline to many right now. It is impossible for “The Body” to work without all its parts so thank you, thank you, thank you!
I also want to let you know I have no doubt that God has prepared us all for “a time such as this,” through all of our past circumstances and battles that we have individually and collectively fought and grown through. The truth is that we know that this season is not a surprise to God. He knew well ahead of time what each of us would be faced with and He has prepared us and positioned us in such a way that through Christ we have all we need to conquer the challenges ahead.
The truth is that the Word tells us that when our identity is found in Christ, that through Faith we are co heirs with Christ and have access to all authority in the name of Jesus. The beauty of this is that it has nothing to do with who I am but everything to do with who God is. We only need to look at the story of Abraham to see the faithfulness of God to His promises. God told Abraham he would be a father of many nations and even when Abraham and Sara took matters into their own hands and had Ishmael, God did not renege on his promise of Issac. I also think about how many years later how Abraham felt bringing Isaac to the mountain for the sacrifice and how because of His past circumstances that he was able to put his faith and trust in God’s promise that he knew God had a plan. He understood that God had a solution for the circumstance, not because he knew ahead of time about the ram in the thicket. He understood there would be a solution because he understood the faithfulness of God’s promise and covenant with him. Well, God has a covenant with each of us through the Blood of Christ. He promises that His plans for us our good.
‘“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”’
I know these can be confusing times. Many of us are experiencing the rollercoaster of emotions on the daily and try though we may, we can not see how things work out but that’s okay. For we serve a God who does, who has equipped you and who has plans for us. We know this by his past provisions, by Who He is and most importantly by the one He sent for us, our Savior Jesus Christ. Let our faith and hope rest in that knowledge.