Dear Father, There is something peculiar about how a person's burden has a way of isolating them from the rest of the world. What surprises me is that even Jesus, in the very season when He needed His closest friends most, found Himself without the support of any man. The Scripture says, "Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me... Afterward he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?" They pledged to die with Him, and all He requested was that they pray with Him at the defining and most agonizing moment of His life. Instead, He found them asleep. I wonder what measure of loneliness and disappointment lay behind the words, "Could you not watch with Me one hour?" Sadly, this experience is not unique to Jesus. Although He was vocal in expressing His emotions, we have yet to pay attention to those moments of loneliness and betrayal that often go unnoticed. What do we do when, in a defining moment, the presence of people around us bears no more weight than numbers that can be counted? Surrounded, yet isolated! How do we navigate difficult seasons when no one seems to understand our language, and help seems no more than a friend in deep sleep? Jesus communicated His pain, asked for help, and then He did something noteworthy: He prayed. Perhaps this can be translated to mean: when no one understands the language of my burden, You do. Translations: Slide 1: English Slide 2: French Slide 3: Bengali Slide 4: Hindu Slide 5: Urdu #LetterstoGod #seasons #Loneliness #tryingtimes #help

Dear Father, There is something peculiar about how a person's burden has a way of isolating them from the rest of the world. What surprises me is that even Jesus, in the very season when He needed His closest friends most, found Himself without the support of any man. The Scripture says, "Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me... Afterward he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?" They pledged to die with Him, and all He requested was that they pray with Him at the defining and most agonizing moment of His life. Instead, He found them asleep. I wonder what measure of loneliness and disappointment lay behind the words, "Could you not watch with Me one hour?" Sadly, this experience is not unique to Jesus. Although He was vocal in expressing His emotions, we have yet to pay attention to those moments of loneliness and betrayal that often go unnoticed. What do we do when, in a defining moment, the presence of people around us bears no more weight than numbers that can be counted? Surrounded, yet isolated! How do we navigate difficult seasons when no one seems to understand our language, and help seems no more than a friend in deep sleep? Jesus communicated His pain, asked for help, and then He did something noteworthy: He prayed. Perhaps this can be translated to mean: when no one understands the language of my burden, You do. Translations: Slide 1: English Slide 2: French Slide 3: Bengali Slide 4: Hindu Slide 5: Urdu #LetterstoGod #seasons #Loneliness #tryingtimes #help

Dear Father, It is very possible to go through a passage in Scripture, trying to understand its full content, and in the process miss the very word that gives meaning and context to the entire passage. For instance, the Scripture which says, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned…” In this passage, the word “when” was not randomly repeated three times; it was deliberately repeated to establish a fact: that “when” is not a probability, but an appointed season every man will face. And it does not only reveal certainty, but also introduces the intensity of that season through forces like rivers and fire. To poetically analyze these words, I would liken passing through the rivers to a person with little or no swimming ability being forced into deep waters, with swimming as the only option to survival. And the fire? A painfully intense situation where every attempt to escape only seems to increase the discomfort. And through it all, one truth remains--“when” is inevitable. However, this same Scripture assures us that though this process is real, it is not designed to overcome us. There is, however, a limitation to what the mere sight of fire can do to our minds; for in reality, we do not overcome by fully understanding what fire can do, but by our awareness of Your presence in our lives. Translations; Slide 1: English Slide 2: French Slide 3: Bengali Slide 4: Hindu Slide 5: Urdu #LettertoGod #seasons #hardtimes #tryingtimes

Dear Father, It is very possible to go through a passage in Scripture, trying to understand its full content, and in the process miss the very word that gives meaning and context to the entire passage. For instance, the Scripture which says, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned…” In this passage, the word “when” was not randomly repeated three times; it was deliberately repeated to establish a fact: that “when” is not a probability, but an appointed season every man will face. And it does not only reveal certainty, but also introduces the intensity of that season through forces like rivers and fire. To poetically analyze these words, I would liken passing through the rivers to a person with little or no swimming ability being forced into deep waters, with swimming as the only option to survival. And the fire? A painfully intense situation where every attempt to escape only seems to increase the discomfort. And through it all, one truth remains--“when” is inevitable. However, this same Scripture assures us that though this process is real, it is not designed to overcome us. There is, however, a limitation to what the mere sight of fire can do to our minds; for in reality, we do not overcome by fully understanding what fire can do, but by our awareness of Your presence in our lives. Translations; Slide 1: English Slide 2: French Slide 3: Bengali Slide 4: Hindu Slide 5: Urdu #LettertoGod #seasons #hardtimes #tryingtimes