I am finding it difficult to get my head around all of this that is happening. Last night, I hosted an online prayer gathering for our church. We prayed for a long list of people who are affected by this crisis. I know how my life is being affected by this. But as we began to pray, I realized there are so many different situations where people are being affected in ways that I could not have imagined.
We may not be able to fully grasp all of this, but nothing comes as a surprise to God. Throughout history, there have been wars, famines, plagues, and natural disasters. It was in these times of crisis that serve as a catalyst for renewed faith and trust in God. When everything that we trusted in begins to fail us, we come to realize that God alone is our salvation.
During our prayer meeting I shared Psalm 63:1:
“O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” (Psalm 63:1, ESV)
Here we are reminded that God is God. There is no other God. We may make idols of other things. We may think that our salvation is having enough bread, milk, or toilet paper on hand. We may think our salvation is having enough money in our checking accounts to weather the storm. We may think that our salvation is keeping ourselves isolated so that we don’t become infected. But before we need any of those things, we need God! God is our salvation! Jesus reminds us that we do not live on bread (milk, toilet paper, money, etc) alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God (see Matthew 4:4).
The second thing this Psalm reminds us to do is to seek the Lord. This especially true in a time of need. The Psalmist speaks of a dry and weary land where there is no water. We are entering into a time of scarcity where the abundance that we recently enjoyed is drying up. Seek him!
Jesus tells us to seek first the kingdom of God (see Matthew 6:33). The result is that all these things will be given to us as well. In other words, if we keep seeking him, God will take care of the rest. But it all starts with seeking him. Seeking him is opening up the Word. Seeking him is going to him in prayer. Seeking him is looking to do what he would have you do. Seeking him is joining together with other believers however we can.
Think about when you are hungry or thirsty. Your priority becomes food and water. You look for those things above everything else. In a time like this, you may be hungry and thirsty for many things. But my prayer is that our greatest hunger and thirst would be for the Bread of Life and Living Water. As a result, this hunger and thirst would drive us passionately pursue God in our lives.
Connie Molck says
My faith is still strong but needs constant boosts….and this was a good one Pastor. I look forward to these messages you share.
Igor says
In times like these, we need to hold stronger to God.
God bless you Pastor