Still Moments

Last Sunday, I arrived at our church's campus a little earlier than I normally do. The parking lot was nearly vacant since we were hosting our service online, and as I stepped out of the car, I was struck by the stillness of the moment. I stood there for a long while, and just thought about everything that has happened in our nation over these weeks. We have seen both concern and panic, legitimate information and unhelpful rumors, public cooperation and partisan bickering. It has been a study of contrasts.

I thought about these things as I walked down the back road running behind the church, stood at the edge of the field and looked toward the wood line. The morning birds were singing, a flock of geese flew overhead and the smell of fresh hay hung heavy on the air. I prayed for the sermon, for the staff, for our church and for all the churches that would be meeting, both online and in-person. I prayed for all the pastors and church leadership teams facing uncertainty and disruption.

That moment of stillness that morning seemed to punch a hole through the middle of the chaos and uncertainty and let some light in on it all.

We are small, but we serve an infinite God.

We don’t have all the answers, but his ways are higher than ours.

We are weak, but he is strong.

We all need those moments of perspective.

The American church has been presented with a perfect opportunity to discover any misplaced or mistaken ideas of the true source of our hope, a deeper fellowship with Christ through prayer, and whether or not we really believe what God says. It’s a moment of perspective, a season of weighing what we trust and a time to consider the brief, delicate nature of life.

So today, pray that…

• We would know fully that our true source of hope, strength and faith is found in Christ alone. -  Psalm 28:7 The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him. 
• We would know the blessing of trusting God even in the middle of crisis. -  Jeremiah 17:7-8 Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.
• We would not depend upon our own wisdom as we seek him. Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
• We would live in such a way that we depend wholly upon Jesus alone. John 15:5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.