Remembering
by Jane Josephs
“...as my heart grows faint, lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” –Psalm 61:2
Five years ago we experienced a global pandemic that left millions dead. Today I’m taking time to remember and share with you a devotion I wrote during those dark days. I titled it “The Shelter of His Wings: Running to the Rock” (3/23/2020). I hope you will find the message as relevant to your life today as it was to mine then:
Dear Friends,
I cannot lie, I’ve had my moments during this 2020 Covid-19 pandemic storm. Moments of lament that our lives have changed so drastically, leaving us antsy, worried, and trying our best to figure out how to navigate new routines. And yes, I’ve surrendered to a few minutes of panic. Is my house in order? Will I ever be able to buy toilet paper again? I’ve even wrestled with whether I should I write my own eulogy, just in case. And if so, what should I say? Will anyone be around to read it when this pandemic runs its course?
But that’s fear speaking, isn’t it?
Although his circumstances were markedly different from ours, I’m convinced that King David knew the same feelings I’m experiencing when he cried out to God about the state of his own “faint” heart. The King James version of the Bible translates this phrase as “when my heart is overwhelmed.” I don’t know about you, but that word messes with my mind.
To be overwhelmed, of course, is to be defeated, swamped, and overpowered.
And it’s here that I find myself fighting back, resisting the urge to give in to fear. Instead—moment by moment, day by day—I’m doing my best to replace fear with faith, and choosing to cling to the hope I find in David’s next words: “...lead me to the rock that is higher than I.”
There is a rock, dear friends, that is higher than any circumstances this virus can throw at us. That rock has a name—Jesus, the Name above all names. Later in that same psalm David says to this Rock, “I long to dwell in Your tents forever and take refuge in the shelter of Your wings.”
We’re human. And hurting. I get that. I really do. But tuck David’s words away in your heart, okay? There is a place under God’s wings where nothing and no one can harm you. Ever.
Dear Lord, Yesterday, today, and forever You are the Rock of our salvation. Thank You for seeing us through the storms of this life, for never leaving our side; for being the Friend who is closer than a brother. Help us find our rest in You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.