The completion of the regular season in college football serves as an illustration that you never know what will happen on any given day. This is so true for individual and team sports, and illustrations will now be added to the history books.

You know, life is the same way . . . you never know what will happen. A disease, an accident, a setback, a surprise, and so many other things can interrupt our lives severely. It is amazing when those kinds of things happen how much our lives are put on on “pause,” yet in the heat of the normal life pattern, “pause” seems to occur rarely.

I pray this week for all of us to not have to experience any of these types of moments. However, reality is, there were people all over our congregation who told me yesterday of trouble, sickness, surgery, and loss. Yes, people are hurting and many people are in the battle of a setback right now.

Just remember to not be trite or cute, “Many times a set-back to us is a set-up for God to do something powerful in our lives.” No, they are not easy to experience. None of us want to experience them at all.

The message in our hearts can be peace and hope. Peace is not the absence of trouble, but the presence of God. Hope is in Christ and in His Word alone.

May His peace and hope fill your life today.