He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (Col. 1:17)
IT TAKES A FOCUSED EFFORT to “keep it together” in times of transition or crisis. We have found great support to face life-altering changes through groups filled with people who have walked through the same issues we’ve faced. Sometimes the help was as simple as a shared recipe for a diabetic-friendly meal. Once a pastor friend walked us through the feelings we might face when we returned home for a parent’s funeral. Friends came alongside us to advise and encourage both of us how to get back into a pattern of healthy exercise while one of us recovered from a serious illness and the other functioned as caregiver. There’s no doubt about it: People who had been there before have helped us hold the details of life together in times when we could have easily fallen apart.
The chaos facing the first-century church wasn’t so different from the chaos we face today. Political instability, economic uncertainty, social shifts, and crumbling morality only intensified the sense of things falling apart in everyday life. Christians had a crucial message for their neighbors—Jesus holds everything together. As Lord of all things, He brings a sense of stability that simply cannot be found anywhere else.
It’s a message we can bring with just as much effect to our wounded world, and to our own lives, today.
Write down five ways Jesus helps you keep it together, and share them with a friend.
Steve Wamberg is a husband, dad, writer, and pastor who loves preaching, teaching, music, coffee, and Nebraska football.
