Read: Matthew 5:1-12

Last Friday, I delivered a round of Meals On Wheels with my two daughters, since they didn’t have school for the week. If was fun. I encourage any of you who are looking for a way to serve the elderly people in the community, sign up to be a Meals On Wheels volunteer.
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Talking about Meals On Wheels, it reminds me of a story of tree mice that died and went to heaven by God’s grace. One day an angel of God saw them worn out and panting for breath. So the angel stopped and asked the mice what was going on with them or whether they didn’t enjoy heaven. They said, “Oh, dear angel, heaven is very nice and beautiful, but it is too big for our little feet to run all over to see all the wonderful creation of the Lord.” The angel asked God’s permission to give each of them a set of roller skates, and they enjoy them very much, and rolled about all over heaven.

A few weeks later, three cats arrived in heaven by God’s grace, and one day the angel saw them warn out and panting for breath. So the angel asked what was going on with them and whether they didn’t enjoy heaven. They said, “Oh, dear angel, we definitely enjoy heaven and all the wonderful creation of God. The only problem is that the heaven is so big that we are just worn out by those three little meals on wheels!”
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This is flu season.  What’s the first thing you do to find out if you’ve got flu?  I normally measure my temperature.If my kids get sick, the first thing I do is to put my hand against their forehead and sense the heat.  Then if I smell a fish, I put a thermometer in their ear. How do you measure a spiritual flu? I believe you have to measure the level of joy you have.

How much turkey did you eat this week? Have you stepped on your scale lately to see how much weigh you’ve gained? Be careful what you eat and how much you eat during the holiday season. I noticed that I haven’t been sick for a long time. Remember in the past, during this season, I tended to have cold, followed by cough, and a long period of bronchitis? I’ve also noticed that, when I am healthy for a long period of time, my empathy quotient becomes lower, and I lost some ability to sympathize with those who are sick. So, I believe, sometimes, God allows us to be sick, so that we can relate to those who suffer from illness. God says, “Sam, I want you to take care of my sheep, especially those that are sick and suffering. If you don’t know how to relate to them, I have to make you taste some sickness.”

There are seasons of life when we struggle with fear, loss, guilt, and loneliness because we live in a fallen world in which God’s will is not always done. What’s even worse is, when we try to do the right things, we often encounter all kinds of threats and hardship. If you don’t know what I mean, just try to eat right, exercise, or get rid of a bad habit.

It’s easier to go with the flow, join the rat race, and bury our lives in indefinite busyness, than to make tough decisions to fulfill God-given purpose for our lives. The moment we stop burying our heads in the sand, we need a way to manage the elements of devolution around us, such as fear, lost, guilt, and loneliness. In fact, Advent is a season for us to intentionally take our heads out of the sand and clean up at the mess around us. This year, let us tap into King David’s admirable wisdom in handling these elements.

How do you overcome fear, lost, guilt, and loneliness? What do you do when the storm of life strike you with threatening shame and throw you off your life direction? King David went through such situation many times and every time rebounded back to a triumphant life. How he did it? Psalm 25 reveals some of his key secrets and we will unwrap it this Sunday (Nov. 29, the first Sunday of Advent) at Trinity Presbyterian Church of Paramus. So get ready be infused with the timeless wisdom of King David and join us this Sunday.

You can prepare yourself by reading the Psalm 25 below.