Found By You Devotional lessons for Living in Uncertain times
I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord.
Psalm 40:1-3 (NLT)
I will wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope.
Psalm 130:5 (NIV)
“Rest is a form of resistance.”
The Nap Ministry
There have been a few times in my life when I had a forced rest. One time was in 2010 when I had major surgery that involved a six-week recovery. The next major forced rest came in 2014 when I had surgery on my thyroid and was unable to sing for several months.ย Full recovery came a year later.
The pandemic of 2020 has also been a challenging and frustrating period of forced rest. We never anticipated that the social distancing, stay at home recommendations, and closures of different sectors of society would continue for months.ย For those months, the whole world felt as if it was shut down. Our economy has still not recovered.ย Many people are struggling.ย We cannot do much else except to ask, โWhat now, Lord?โ These times of the journey seem long and hard, with little relief in sight. Yet, through these moments, we see God show up and provide just what we need.
One of my favorite stories in the Bible is the journey of the Israelites through the desert after Pharoah, the chief ruler in Egypt, released them from slavery and oppression. When they were freed, the Israelites grabbed whatever they could and ran to the desert. They had nothing but the sandals on their feet and the clothes on their backs.
Letโs pause here for a moment. Literally thousands of people were traveling together across many miles for many years. In the desert. Walking. Every morning, God provided food in the form of manna from the sky and quail in the evening.
In Exodus 16:8, Moses tells the people, โThe LORD will give you meat to eat this evening and bread to fill you in the morningโฆโ God even went as far as to provide clouds to protect them from the heat of the day and fires to guide them and keep them warm at night.
โโฆBy day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light.โ
Exodus 13:20(NIV)
The manna must have been like a divine organic protein bar in order to supply the nutrition for the long walks through the hot desert. But the Israelites had to wait for the supply. Daily. They couldnโt hoard and save up for the next day otherwise the manna would go bad. They needed to rest and wait for the promise of what was to come.
Be amazed at Godโs ability to work through your waiting. The pandemic has forced us all to take a deep look at what it means to rest while waiting.ย Waiting is very hard to do, especially if you lost your job, struggled with finances, or faced a health crisis.
โAs our whole being waits,โ (Psalm 130:5, NIV), God restores our hope.
Reflection
Take a moment to be still.ย What are some of the areas of your life where you are waiting on God? How has the waiting been difficult? What are your next right steps?
Light a candle and say this next prayer.
Prayer
Lord, be with us during our difficult seasons. Help us to know that we are not alone. You are with us every step. I choose You today. I donโt want to rely on our own abilities, but to trust You and know that You are taking care of us. . How beautiful to know that I can rest assured in You. Help me to stay rooted and anchored in You.ย Amen.
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