I feel my shoulders aching from the end of a long day. I’ve had this window open on my computer for over an hour but haven’t had the mental energy to sit down and sort out the words that are in my head. My brain feels like the dryer that is currently running downstairs. Tossing. Twisting. Turning.
I almost thought about not posting this week. I’ve been participating in a writing intensive since October and started NaNoWriMo in the beginning of November. NaNoWriMo stands for National November Writers Month and it’s an annual non-profit writing event in which participants attempt to write 50,000 words of a novel in thirty days between November 1st and November 30th.
Between working by day and essentially writing by night, I’ve been stretched thin. I’ve also been studying for my final accounting exam that got postponed last Spring due to the coronavirus.
Besides all this in my personal life, it’s been a strange couple weeks in our world. The current events have shaken me as I’m sure they’ve shaken all of you. It’s been a weird week to be an American.
I thought a lot about what God might want me to say in light of all of this. I could write about the history of our nation and the values it was founded on, the importance of voting and the privilege it is, no matter the outcome, or why we need to turn off the news sometimes and just rest in the sovereignty of God… all those things are true and right.
But there is a truth that goes deeper than the politics and powers of the world. It stretches beneath kings and kingdoms. And it’s the truth that not only is God intimately involved and supernaturally aware of the events and elections and pandemics of our world, he is intimately involved and supernaturally aware of every single, itty-bitty, minute detail of our lives.
He not only holds the tomorrow of the world, but he holds, so carefully, the tomorrow of my life. And yours.
It’s hard not to get overwhelmed these days. It’s hard to know how to prepare for the future. Ad I’m not sure who needs to hear this tonight, but I just want to remind you-
In the weeks ahead, as everyone continues discussing the logistics and implications of the election and the coronavirus and debating over the illegal or legal votes, just remember- God knows. He knows what is. He knows what will be. And nothing is catching him by surprise.
He is GOD. Almighty. The Maker of Heaven and Earth, who breathed the stars into existence and thought up things as mysterious and magical as waterfalls and the northern lights, red pandas, wild mustangs, the ocean and the rain.
He existed before time and his nature has never changed from the days of his children’s Exodus in Egypt, to the time of Jesus, the Middle Ages, the Revolutionary War, the Great Depression… he’s seen times of want and times of plenty and he’s rescued and redeemed a million souls throughout them all.
We need not fear.
As I reflect on these great truths, I am reminded of one of my favorite hymns. Below I have pasted the words and I pray they bless your heart. I pray whatever these next weeks hold, your steadfast hope would remain unchanged in the one who does not change.
Life can get so heavy at times. Tonight I feel keenly it’s weight on my shoulders. I know for some out there, it’s weight is crushing. But may the weakness we feel point us back to Christ’s strength, his all sufficient grace and his never-ending power. He is God and we are not.
We weren’t made to carry the weight of the world.
God made it. He’ll carry it to the end.
“Be still, my soul: The Lord is on thy side; with patience bear thy cross of grief or pain. Leave to thy God to order and provide; in ev’ry change he faithful will remain. Be still, my soul: Thy best, thy heav’nly Friend, through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.
Be still, my soul: Thy God doth undertake to guide the future as he has the past. Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake; all now mysterious shall be bright at last. Be still, my soul: The waves and winds still know, his voice who ruled them while he dwelt below.
Be still, my soul: The hour is hast’ning on, when we shall be forever with the Lord, When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone, sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored. Be still, my soul: When change and tears are past, all safe and blessed we shall meet at last.”
