May 16, 2025

Good morning, 

Exhaustion, disappointment in failure, overwhelming hardships and sickness can make it difficult to see God’s goodness at times. Pain can cloud our perspective on occasion and prevent you from seeing obvious glimpses of God even in pain. But when everything in you wants to stop, God's goodness transcends our circumstances. Denoting that we can still trust in God's goodness even when life looks difficult or unfair. From the small things to the large things, we must trust God in everything. Psalm 34:18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

In a world saturated with opinions and conflicting information, our faith life is not what it should be for many of us. A lack of faith can make it seem as if God is not present when we face difficulties, but God is always present.  Every day, we get vivid reminders of our weakness in comparison to God’s supernatural strength. Daily, we are encouraged not to rely on deceptive tendencies but rather on the almighty God. God is most definitely good and His goodness blows my mind on a regular basis.

We always try to understand and sometimes figure out why certain things happen. We perceive that the good things come from God and the bad things do not. God has a different plan than we do, and the things we pray about, and hope will come to pass may not happen. When things look their bleakest, that’s when our faith should shine. If we genuinely want our faith to transcend any circumstances, we need to use it every day. From the small things to the significant things, we must trust God in everything. Only then will our faith begin to grow and be strengthened. Then, and only then, will things change against all odds – because we trusted God.

Thank you for your financial contributions to support the church's work. Please continue to mail your checks to Payne Chapel A.M.E. Church, 2701 Lee St, Houston, Texas 77026, or use Givelify.com (Payne Chapel A.M.E. Church—Houston, Texas).

Finally, I would like to leave you with this thought for meditation: “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” ― Charles R. Swindoll

Blessings to you.

Pastor Kevin L. Bullock, Sr.