It’s time to write an August article for our church newsletter and this has normally been my time to talk about back-to-school kickoffs and such. However, this year is not normal. This month has been somewhat turbulent for me. At the beginning of July, I was ready to start a new phase of meeting together, my plans were moving toward a new phase of a new normal, when we hit the brakes with an increase of COVID cases. With this yo-yo of decisions, I feel like I have been a yo-yo of emotions. Can you relate? With schools making plans for the Fall, the questions seem to still outweigh the answers.
Our pastoral staff had a big discussion about how to deal with chaos in general. Our conversation boiled down to being faithful to what God has called us to do. One way I think about this is a lesson I learned early as I began to hike and explore the woods. I learned that, if I ever get lost and cannot find a familiar spot to stop, think about where I’ve come from. Look for any markers that might give me a sense of direction, and if necessary, head downhill and find water. Follow the water in the same direction until it leads to a town or road or something that helps you get home.
I was reading Psalm 46 and the Psalmist says “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear though the earth gives way…” When everything feels like or maybe is in chaos, God is present to help and protect us. Verse 4 says “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.” Where God is, there is the waypoint, the presence of stability and steadiness that brings us home when we are lost, that rescues us when we are in trouble. This Psalm has a contrast of chaos and peace. The chaos of the world and peace found in God. One of my favorite verses is found in verse 10 “Be still and know that I am God.”
What a great lesson, in the chaos, in the unknown, in feeling lost or wandering, stop…be still… find the waypoint, the thing that can give you a sense of direction, something that is steady that will rescue. That waypoint is not a thing, but the one true God who is present.
During this season, we have opportunities to hold onto the firm fortress which is our God. We might not have exact answers for a new school year, or when we are meeting for Sunday School or kids and youth activities, but we do know one thing: God has not left us, God is here in the midst of every circumstance.
How can I know this? Well the Bible is chocked full of stories of God’s faithfulness. Moments of lost people (or nations) being found. Impossible situations miraculously made possible by God. The more I read the Bible and talk about these stories with my family, the more we look for God to turn dire situations of hopelessness or loss into hope and life. That is who God is. When everything is crumbling, God is a still river that faithfully guides us to safety.
There is a lot we miss doing during this season, but one thing cannot be taken away, and that is our ability as individuals and families to be still with God. To read the Bible and memorize it. To pray and watch for what God is doing in and around us and to join in that work to be a blessing wherever we are placed. These are the areas we can be faithful in, no matter what.
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