Saturday, November 7, 2026From the news

Pressing On Through the Waters

Pope Leo's first South American tour since his lung cancer surgery reminds us that God meets us in weakness and walks with us through every long road.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

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; the flames will not set you ablaze.

Isaiah 43:2

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

Psalm 46:1

Some journeys ask more of us than we expected. This week, Pope Leo set out on a twelve-day trip through Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru. It is his first tour of South America since his surgery for lung cancer, and it is a long road for anyone, let alone for a man who has recently come through a serious illness. Peru holds a special place for him, since he spent two decades there, so this journey is in some sense a return to a place that shaped him. Whatever we think about the Pope or his church, we can recognize the ache of a body that has been through a hard season, and the quiet courage it takes to keep going anyway.

If you are reading this from a hospital chair, a kitchen table after bad news, or a long night of worry, let us take heart together. Many of us know what it feels like to be outwardly worn down. Our bodies tire, our plans get interrupted, and the future can feel uncertain. The apostle Paul knew this well. He wrote to the church in Corinth, "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day." Paul was not pretending that suffering is small. He was saying that God's work in us does not stop when our strength runs low.

Notice what Paul does next. He calls our troubles "light and momentary" compared with the glory that is coming, and he invites us to fix our eyes "not on what is seen, but on what is unseen." This is not a call to deny pain or to hurry past it. It is a gentle reorientation. The things that feel most urgent in this season are real, but they are not the final word, and the love of God that holds us is eternal.

The prophet Isaiah speaks to the same comfort with a different image. God says to his people, "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you." Notice the word "when," not "if." Hard seasons come to everyone. Isaiah does not promise that the waters will never rise. He promises that the Lord will be with us in them. A surgery, a long flight, a slow recovery, a prayer that still feels unanswered: none of these places you outside the reach of God's care.

When our own courage runs thin, Psalm 46 offers a steady anchor: "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble." The word "ever-present" matters. God is not near only on the good days, on the big stages, or when we feel strong. He is present in the hospital corridor, on the long flight, and in the quiet hour before dawn.

So what might this mean for you today? Perhaps you can name one area where you feel worn down, and bring it honestly to the Lord without dressing it up. Perhaps you can pray for those who are traveling, those recovering from surgery, and those who keep serving others while their own bodies are tired. And perhaps you can rest in the simple truth that you do not have to carry everything by yourself.

Whatever road you are walking this week, you are not walking it alone. Take heart. Be renewed day by day, one small faithful step at a time. The Lord is near, and he is faithful to the end of the road.