As You Go Pray 4/05/20

Unleashed – As You Go – Pray

Living Confidently Even When

“I believe that I shall see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!” Psalm 27:13-14

Lunch is ready, wash your hands. Now! The trademark mantra of Moms for generations. Now you hear the same words, wash your hands even if you simply touch the door handle. Wash hands! Keep your distance – six feet! Stay home! This is the new life we find ourselves in at this time. No one ever imagined we would be at this place. However, Jesus tells a most timely parable that could easily apply today.

“Then he told them a parable: “The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, what should I do, for I have no place to store my crops? Then he said, I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry. But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:16-21)

The man had life the way he wanted, all the things he would need for years to come. He made some good financial decisions only to wake up with the words, “You fool!,” and his world was gone.  In February we woke up to a world changed totally.  Life for us was good but then an unexpected, unprecedented, and deadly virus attacked the world. What we had was no longer there. The barns we built were gone.

Jesus parable would be filled with hopelessness and it is, if your focus is not on God. The man’s focus was on his treasure, not upon God. The same is said of anyone “who stores up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”

However, to His disciples we are told, “not to worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear.” (Luke 12:22) Jesus points to the sky and tells us to look, “the ravens; they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them.” If God can take care of birds, think about how he must care for you. He tells us, “of how much more value are you than the birds!” (Luke 12:24)

Living confidently in the midst of a crisis is not easy. Unfortunately, fear can overwhelm followers of Jesus. We have to be reminded often that God’s kingdom is greater than our struggle. To hear again the comforting words of Jesus as he tells us, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” (Luke 12:32)

C.S. Lewis tells about living confidently even when life seems hopeless. Replace his “crisis” with our crisis of the virus to keep in perspective Jesus words, “do not be afraid, little flock.”

“If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things—praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts—not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs. They may break our bodies (any microbe can do that) but they need not dominate our minds.”

The days ahead may still be stressful yet our hope is secure in God. Our future may be uncertain but we stand on the unshakable ground of God’s Word. Our path may be rocky but we walk with Jesus in confidence. “Truly the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.” (Psalm 33:18-19)

 

God is great,

Pastor Lynn Burton