Love in the midst of loss

Happy Easter Pinewood Family! I needed some fresh air so I thought I would get out of the dungeon (aka my home studio), to bring you an Easter message with a beautiful view. Is that ok with you? Thank you for walking this journey with me. I’m currently hiking up Red Rocks trail in Boulder Colorado. I love this city so much. I truly can’t believe that I get to call this place home.

I want to give a shout out to everyone that is watching or listening in with us for the very first time. It is truly an honor that you would join in and be a part of what God is doing at Pinewood Church. It has always been a prayer and vision for Jess and me that Pinewood would be a global church. We have a home base in Boulder, but our prayer is that you would consider joining our Pinewood family from wherever you are. We believe that one day we will have Crews and Churches in California, New York, Florida, Tennessee, and wherever else God leads.

And just like that. I told you it would only take a second.

I want to share a statement that God laid on my heart earlier this week.

Love in the midst of loss

I prayed over this statement and felt like the Lord was telling me to grieve the past, feel the weight of the present, and look to the hope in the future.

I’m currently grieving a big and exciting transition we were about to make as a church.

I’m grieving over the loss of routine. In November of last year my wife and I joined a gym that we love… ok we love the steam room and people in the gym. We were faithfully going every day and working out, meeting new people and working out, and now that’s gone for now.

I’m grieving the loss of control. It’s not that I want to control people or necessarily the world around me, but everything in my life feels very much out of control right now. Anybody else feel that?

I’m grieving the hurt and loss of people that I love. Everyone I know is experiencing some level of loss. Loss of a job, loss of a dream, loss of a loved one, loss of their health, loss of their relationships.

What in your world are you needing to grieve today?

Maybe you’re in the middle of grieving a lost loved one… and you’re confused and frustrated why it had to be this way. Why you couldn’t be with them in the hospital, why they got sick in the first place…

Maybe you’re grieving the health of a loved one. I know this is many of us today. This week alone I found out that friends of mine have COVID-19.

Maybe you’re grieving the loss of a job and you’re wondering how you’re going to pay your rent. Finances were already tight and now you’re seeing your bank account shrink more and more every week.

Maybe you’re grieving a loss of relationships. It was hard enough to find community and build real relationships without social distancing and quarantine and now it feels almost impossible.

There’s a passage of Scripture that has always helped me in seasons of grief:

“God, hear my cry; pay attention to my prayer. 2 I call to you from the ends of the earth

when my heart is without strength. Lead me to a rock that is high above me, 3 for you have been a refuge for me, a strong tower in the face of the enemy.” - Psalm 61:1-3

In times of grief and loss it can feel like our foundation has left us. What we thought we could count on is no longer available to us and we feel isolated and alone. This phrase “lead me to a rock that is high above me” reminds me of three great needs I need in grief, a friend to walk with, a solid foundation to stand on, and a higher perspective on the situation. I need protection, I need direction, I need to know I’m not alone!

I want to encourage you to take time to feel the weight of the present. It can be easy for us in this age of unlimited technology, information, and zoom calls, to get distracted and ignore the weight of the world around us. Take a pause, slow down, journal, and cry out to God. He wants to walk with you, He desires to comfort you, He loves you so much.

“Because of the Lord’s faithful love we do not perish, for his mercies never end. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness! 24 I say, “The Lord is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in him.” - Lamentations 3:22-24

The Lord’s faithful love… His mercies are made new every morning… great is His faithfulness. I will put my hope in Him!

How many of you feel like you need hope this Easter?

We can find love in the midst of loss because we have hope in Jesus Christ!

“For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” - John 3:16

My prayer is that you would experience God’s love in the midst of great loss. That you would put your faith in the person and work of Jesus. Believing that He died for your sins, that He was buried, and that He rose from the grave and is alive today.

Easter Sunday is a moment that we remember the resurrection of Jesus.

Prayer of Salvation:

Jesus, I acknowledge that I need you

I confess that I have sinned against you

I believe that God raised you from the dead

And right now, by faith, I say “Jesus is Lord”

Thank you for forgiving me

By your grace I am saved

And by your power I am set free