Ash Wednesday is tomorrow. Our theme at Shepherd of the Coast will be drawn from Isaiah 53:1 – “Who has believed our message? To whom has the LORD’s power been revealed?”

Do you ever look at the substance of your faith and ask, “who can believe this stuff?” At some level we all struggle with unbelief. I would argue that our struggle is in fact a GOOD thing. I don’t think you can take seriously the claims of God’s Word and not struggle.

On the practical level, the struggle gets personal when we try to put faith into practice. It isn’t easy to trust God to heal, forgive, and reconcile when you’re hurting or have been hurt. Who can believe that God would heal your loss, or create forgiveness in your heart for the one who has hurt you, or work reconciliation between people. Who can believe this?

We do! We confess it in the Creed and, by the power of the Holy Spirit, hold to this message in our hearts. To whom has the LORD’s power been revealed? To you! In your baptism God worked the miracle of faith. In your reading and study of God’s word, the Holy Spirit nurtures that faith.

As you humble yourself before God in worship tomorrow, as unbelievable as it sounds, God meets you. He meets you in His word and in the face of Christ that you will see in the Lord’s Supper. It is unbelievable, but God will be showing up tomorrow and revealing again his power to save.