Alongside

How do you make sense of an unprecedented calamity of Global proportion? How do you find your bearings in the sudden and crazy turn of events around you?  In the last couple of weeks literally everything has gone for a toss, the lines have been altered drastically, the way we live, behave, communicate, work, move around, celebrate, worship etc. almost every aspect of life. It has been a big jolt for most of us from our reverie of life, stuck at home, being fearful of this terrible virus lurking at every corner, occasionally stepping out of our houses with utmost caution, our faces covered with mask’s against an unseen lethal enemy, scrambling to stockpile our homes with provisions for the lock-down and lathering our hands constantly with soap to keep the tiny killer at bay or otherwise fiddling away on our smartphones, immersed in our social media apps and frequently switching to see how the dreaded virus is faring city-state–nation and worldwide (that seems to be the most pre...

Apostle Paul concludes his famous chapter on Love with this verse, “ and now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. ” 1Cor 13:13. When everything around us is going topsy-turvy, when people are gripped with fear, anxiety and uncertainty, we are reminded that no matter whatever happens these three will remain. Everything else will pass, no doubt Covid 19 will eventually pass, it is not here stay, mankind has seen worse calamities over the centuries, but none of them have remained even though they looked ominous and destructive, it has all passed and human race has survived but these three things are permanent: faith, hope and love. Faith in God who is sovereign over all human affairs, who is in control and He allows certain things to happen even if we don’t appreciate and understand it. But yet we firmly believe that He is working all things for good and He has a great plan in all this, is the foundation stone for us as we face calamitie...

The fast paced world that we live in, constantly in a state of flux, with rising uncertainties, changing mores and notions, fads and ideas, finding that balance has become an increasingly arduous task. Young families who have started out with great promise and excitement are facing the maximum brunt, not being successful in handling it, they are going into a tail spin ending in terrible stress, break up and total mess. Pressure at work, scrambling to meet deadlines, handling finances, finding time for personal growth and faith, taking care of health, family- being a loving husband and a caring father,   socialising, finding your creative space and pursuing one’s passion, the list goes on and on. Honestly one might be wondering how on earth can I find time to manage all these. The pressure and stress might be getting onto our heads, there are many who have given up and taken refuge in alcohol and there are alarmingly innumerable marriages on the brink of divorce or have already...

Can we have Joy irrespective of what we are going through in life? Is it possible to experience peace that surpasses all understanding even when everything around us seems to be going topsy-turvy? Does what the Bible promises really come true in my life, then why am I not experiencing it? These might be questions that we struggle with as we try to walk by faith.  Habakkuk the prophet had similar questions, questions more profound and complicated than these, like why are the wicked people prospering and the good ones suffering? Is God not in control of situations? But as he asks those questions, God answers him powerfully in ways only He can and at the end of that discourse  Habakkuk concludes in chapter 3:17-19 " Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no food; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls. Yet I will rejoice i...