Devotional – Tuesday, April 7, 2020
| This is the confidence we have in approaching God; that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of him. –1 John 5:14-15 I have a black lab, who loves to run along the fence line in the back of our house and bark. Most of the time, he comes in when I call him, but I went out there yesterday, when he was really having a fit and just would not come inside. I still never understood why he was barking, but it brought me to a place in the back yard I don’t visit often. I saw a small sign, one we hung up in the midst of dealing with the aftermath of the flood of 2016. We found a small, hand-painted sign in one of the many boxes, and my husband hung it up on a nail which was sticking out of a post on the back porch. It felt like we were making a statement at the time, reclaiming part of this space as ours again. Not long after, my two sons and I brought folding tables back there and had a fast food picnic. How happy we were to be home, just sharing a meal and being together! Fast forward to present day, when I have spent the last week sucked in by the craziness of on-call work with service calls, vendor setups and customer questions running out of my ears while simultaneously trying to homeschool and juggling deadlines for both, doing payroll for my division and feeling terribly cooped up, being annoyed with the same space I couldn’t wait to get back to not so long ago. The same space I sobbed over because I missed it so much. That gave me some perspective. The message I got during a moment of prayer was, “Shift your focus!” The sign hanging on the porch says, “Trust Jesus.” I do need reminding at times that God has this. Jesus knows our pains, our fears and the outcome of it all. He’s got this. He’s got us. The song He’s Got the Whole World In His Hands has been running through my head all day. This scripture confirms that God really does listen to our prayers and He answers them in His time and according to His plan. God is not surprised by anything happening right now. We need to remember to trust Him. I need to make a bigger effort to seek his guidance and direction the moment I feel overwhelmed or anxious. Lord, we ask that you continue to show us ways to do your will and try to help others in the midst of the events unfolding in front of us. Please keep reminding us to focus on you during this time, to turn to you in prayer often and trust in your will for our lives. Amen. |
| Offered by Ann Landry |