A MID-WEEK MESSAGE FROM PASTOR JENNIFER...



Greetings APUMC Family,

How is it with your soul?

This is a question I have been carrying with me this week as I have written and prayed over Sunday's sermon on Genesis 32.

It seems like a simple question, but it is not always an easy one to answer.

Most days, "How are you?" is more of a greeting than a genuine question. We smile, reply, "I'm fine," "Doing well," "Good but busy," or maybe, like my grandmother, "No need in complaining," and then keep moving. Sometimes those words are true. Other times, they are truthfully the quickest way to move the conversation along without revealing what is really happening beneath the surface.

Many of us have learned to keep going, stay busy, and carry more than we were ever meant to carry. Sometimes the most difficult person to be honest with is not even someone else…it is ourselves. We fill our calendars, solve the next problem, and keep moving, hoping that if we do not slow down, we will not have to face how we really are.

But throughout Scripture, we meet a God who invites something different...deeper. God does not ask for polished answers or carefully managed appearances. God desires relationship – the kind of relationship where we bring our whole selves into God’s presence without fear or shame. God can handle how we really are. We can trust God with anything and everything that we might be hiding behind our, “I’m fine’s.”

As we have followed Jacob's story these past few weeks, we have watched a man who spent much of his life striving, planning, and trying to stay one step ahead. He grasped for the birthright, seized the blessing, and trusted his own ingenuity more than God's promises. Yet by the time we arrive at Genesis 32, Jacob discovers that there comes a moment when running is no longer possible. Alone with God, he is invited to stop pretending and simply be honest about who he is.

This week, I invite you to spend a few quiet moments with God. During these moments, I encourage you to answer one question as honestly as you can: How is it with my soul? If you are weary or angry, say so. If you are anxious, tell God about it. If you are grateful, give thanks. If you are wrestling with questions, bring those too.

This Sunday we will join Jacob on the banks of the Jabbok River, where one mysterious night changes him forever. My prayer is that, as we gather for worship, we will discover that the God who knows us completely also loves us completely – and invites us to stop hiding, stop running, and step into the freedom of being fully known and fully loved by our God who calls us “beloved.”

Grace and peace,

Jennifer