Devotions
Peace. It is the one thing we all crave. Lately, it seems we cannot get away from uncertainty. The news is filled with stories about the never-ending pandemic, devastating fires, tsunami’s, political and social unrest, inflation…name it and you will find it. Many are anxious and filled with endless worry, depression and a sense of hopelessness and helplessness. How can we find peace in these chaotic times?
This year Christmas comes at a very complicated time in our nation and in our lives. The COVID-19 virus is still raging, with the Omicron and Delta variants threatening our Christmas festivities, hospitals are close to 100% full with sick patients, medical workers and teachers are stretched to breaking point, chain supply issues are far from over, school violence is a constant threat to our children and is affecting them mentally and emotionally, natural disasters like tornadoes and typhoons are making their presence known and devastating homes along their paths, the political climate has gone from bad to insane…need I go on? One might be forgiven for thinking this is not a time for celebration. One might be forgiven for thinking that life is completely hopeless right now.
It is hard to be hopeful when we wake up to a world that feels like it is on the brink of destruction. There is so much darkness, and so much distress. Nations are in disarray, the COVID pandemic is still raging, millions of people are in dire need, the climate is changing, and fires are burning, greed for power and wealth at any cost is manifesting across the globe and cries for mercy are rising.
Do you remember the toilet paper shortage of 2020? It was absolutely insane was it not? I remember visiting my local supermarket and thinking, “You’ve got to be kidding!” The aisle was completely empty. Later I learned that the pandemic had interrupted production lines, thus the shortage. Sadly, when we look for peace in the world today, we sort of get the same feeling. The peace aisle is empty. Production lines have been interrupted. Nations are in turmoil. Families are in turmoil. People are in turmoil.
As I reminisce about my childhood, I am reminded of that warm comforting feeling I got every time I leaned on my mother’s chest. I would listen to her heartbeat, and something about that steady LUBB and DUB sound made me feel completely at ease. No matter what else might have been going on, in that moment of leaning I experienced love, protection, serenity, and certainty. As our world continues to spin faster and faster with distressing headlines and protests and riots and hardships, I have found myself longing for that deep sense of certainty and maybe you have too. But who will you lean on when everyone is in the same boat?
By now, we’ve all got the corona drill down pat: Wash your hands; Don’t touch your face; Stay at home; If you must go out, keep a safe distance from others; Cough away from people or into your elbow; If you have symptoms, wear a mask, quarantine yourself, then call your doctor. But how many of us are listening to what God is saying?
Our current world is fraught with danger; fraught with pettiness and rumors; fraught with worry and all manner of ugliness and confusion. I would even dare say; a perfect storm is brewing. It is easy to get carried away by the sludge; it is easy to get immune to the wickedness. It is easy to want to withdraw from it all and pretend, it will all go away quietly. It is quite easy to normalize this corrosive, oppressive, unsound and ungodly environment. In fact this is what the devil hopes we will do. But God is looking for those who will be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer (Romans 12:12) in spite of the storm.
