Today’s message was written by my friend, Rev. Eric Wogen.

My wife enjoys doing jigsaw puzzles. So do I, but I try to stay out of the way when my presence is obviously not her preference. Assembling a 1000-piece puzzle can be quite an undertaking, but never, not once, has she not completed a puzzle she started. Her persistence regularly results in beautiful scenes emerging from a box of random, strangely shaped pieces.

There may be moments when our lives seem like a huge puzzle, a puzzle that is tough to get together, a puzzle that confuses and confounds us, a puzzle that defies us to make sense of present circumstances. Sometimes, the puzzle pieces of our lives may appear to be from different boxes. Other times, we may sense that key pieces are missing, gone, no longer there. Once in a while, unexpected pieces rudely appear, compliments of unwanted realities, undeserved intrusions or uncaring persons. What was already challenging becomes even more so.

For me, God’s word has a lot to offer, a message I find to be most encouraging and helpful when the puzzle pieces of life just don’t seem to fit together. I predictably discover that needed message in words like these and many others: 

   God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. (Psalm 46:1)

   We are often afflicted in every way but not crushed; perplexed but not driven to despair. (2 Corinthians 4:8)

   I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)

To be honest, uplifting words like these and, many more, continue to speak a reassuring message I need to hear even after life’s present puzzle has been conquered. May the same be true for you, friends of Dial Hope.

Let us pray: Gracious God, you have promised to be our companion and guide, a source of strength and support as we cope with whatever life brings our way. Thanks for being with us, always. In our Lord’s name, we pray. Amen.

Today’s message was written by my friend, Rev. Eric Wogen.

I recently came across a devotional message I had written for our congregation’s newsletter shortly after coming to Florida over two decades ago now. I smiled as I read and re-read what I had written, concluded the words remained timely, and decided to share them with you. May you find what follows to be timely, too. 

I continue to be intrigued by the unpredictable and rapid way the weather changes during the summer months in this slice of creation. A recent experience illustrates my observation.

The incident to which I refer took place a few weeks ago. I returned to the office in the early afternoon after making a visit to a member of the congregation. The sun was blazing. A handful of billowy clouds dotted the heavens. I decided to leave my driver’s side car window down. Later that same afternoon, while engaged in an appointment, I noticed a few dark clouds making their appearance on the horizon but quickly concluded they would go elsewhere- a foolish conclusion. A torrential downpour appeared out of nowhere and was the producer of two wet seats that day, one in the car and the other…use your imagination.

Gratefully, both seats eventually dried out. 

From my absorbing experience, I gleaned these insights. The unexpected will come to all of us. Storms appear whether we are ready for them or not and sometimes we will get drenched. We may ask “why”, that eternal question that yields few satisfying answers. We may lament “ if only” but discover that changes nothing. Our inevitable questions rarely connect with helpful answers. We may even wonder if God has moved away from us or if he no longer cares.

The good news is we will dry out. The good news is we can face whatever comes trusting God’s love in Christ will surround and sustain us both during and after life’s storms. What a difference that makes. Soaked though we may be on occasion, the Son’s love has a renewing way of drying us out. And even though more unexpected storms may come our way, we can affirm our Creator’s reassuring word and dependable promise: 

               “ Lo, I am with you always…………”

Let us pray: Lord God, storms will come and storms will go, but your loving care is a constant upon which we can truly depend. Drenched or dry, may we know your sustaining love always and do our best to share it with each other. In our Lord’s name, we pray. Amen.

In the book of Isaiah, chapter 61(1-2) we read these words:

“The spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me;
 he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted,
 to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor… to comfort all who mourn…”

Throughout the book of Isaiah, we find these passages that describe a servant who would be empowered by the Spirit of God to bring healing, hope, justice, and peace to a people in desperate need. 

Sometimes it’s kind of hard to decipher who is this person that Isaiah describes. Was it an individual person, a prophet – perhaps Isaiah himself? Or, perhaps, was the servant Israel as a whole – the community? 

For the first Christians, as they reflected back on these servant passages, they thought about Jesus’ life, they thought about his incarnation – God stepping into the world in the flesh… They remembered his first sermon recorded in the Gospel of Luke (chapter 4) when Jesus read this very text and said, “This prophecy has been fulfilled in your hearing…”

It is a promise of salvation in the broadest sense… It is not just something that happens when we die and go to heaven… No. Here we see God’s deliverance is real, tangible, and this-worldly. It can be seen by others. God’s salvation is meant to transform the world here and now. And as we follow Jesus, we are invited to participate. His Spirit empowers us to take on this servant role so that as we are being healed, we are at the same time enabled to heal others. 

Let us pray: Gracious God, there are many of us today, even now, who need to hear your good news. Our broken hearts need to be bound up. And there are aspects of our lives from which we need to be freed. Heal us, O God. Grant us your mercy and your peace. And then use us as instruments of your grace; through Jesus Christ. Amen.

The much-beloved hymn Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee was written in 1907 by Henry van Dyke. He had been speaking at Williams College in Massachusetts and was inspired by the beauty of the Berkshire Mountains. Later, speaking about the hymn he said, “These verses are simple expressions of common Christian feelings… hymns of today may be sung by people who know the thought of the age and are not afraid that any truth of science will destroy religion, or any revolution on earth overthrow the Kingdom of heaven.”

I love the majestic verses of the hymn, and I also appreciate van Dyke’s thoughts. I agree that the more we understand the complexities of the world through science or observation, the deeper our love and respect for our creator should be. And, though throughout the ages, the times are often plagued with war, hardship, and strife, we worship a God who is more powerful than all of it.

Today, our prayer will be the first verse of this beautiful hymn. Let us pray: Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of love. Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee, opening to the sun above. Melt the clouds of sin and sadness. Drive the dark of doubt away. Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day! Amen.

Not just once, but twice, Psalm 42 asks the question, “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me?” It also says, “My tears have been my food day and night. Why have you forgotten me?”

These emotions and questions are real. They are part of the human experience. Most of us have been there: feeling depressed, abandoned, heartsick. But I wonder how many of us have felt free to speak this pain to God. The beauty of the Psalm is that it holds nothing back. It invites us to be honest before God. 

The Psalm ends, “Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my savior and my God.”

The praise is not there yet, but there is light at the end. There is hope that God will act, that things will change and that we will get through this. One of the things that strikes me is that the pain has to be acknowledged before there is hope.

When your soul is downcast, may you be honest before God. In your honesty, in voicing your own pain, may you begin to get a glimpse of redeeming love.

Our prayer today is taken from Psalm 13. Notice again the shift from complaint to praise. Let us pray: How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I bear pain in my soul? Consider and answer me, O Lord my God! But, I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to you because you have dealt bountifully with me. Amen.