During these past weeks it has been a little crazy to say the least. Our regular schedule has been thrown out the window. Our days and nights have a different feel now. The pace of our lives has been slowed way down. We have time to breathe and walk around our neighborhoods (practicing social distance). In some ways, we are living now what we have often said we wanted to do – slow down our lives. We have to stay home and not go out, the problem is it is not on the terms we would like it to be. It is not on our own terms and it has made anxious and fearful because we don’t know how long this will last.
I have been reading Psalm 46 daily. It has truly spoken to my heart lately. For I now have more time to be still and listen to God and not just talk to God in prayer. Being still and not talking can make us uncomfortable; however, the more we practice it the easier it becomes. I often go outside in my backyard to do this, so when the sun pops out from behind the clouds I head to my back patio. I listen to the fountain, see the birds at the feeder and enjoy the flowers that are beginning to bloom. The clouds in the sky have been so big and fluffy. The sun on my face can feel like a warm hug. I am reminded that God is in all these things and it warms my soul. God calms my fears and lets my heart know that everything will be alright. I think about how blessed I am to have a close relationship with God and feel for those who don’t. I honestly don’t know how I would be able to handle life without my relationship with God. For God is indeed my refuge and source of strength. Now, that I have a little more time to be still and connect with God I realize how much peace that brings my soul, how much comfort God brings to my life.
It should not have taken a pandemic for me to slow down and take the time to be still on a daily basis, but it did. Hopefully when this time is a memory and we are back to our normal crazy schedules I will remember to take more time to be still and just be with God.
When you read Psalm 46 what words touch your heart? How is God speaking to you through this scripture written so long ago? Take the time and ponder what you feel while reading and perhaps you will feel more peace, strength and hope. God is with us through all of this, we just need to be still and notice. God’s peace & grace to you all, Suzanne
Psalm 46
God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.[c]
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
7 The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
8 Come and see what the Lord has done,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease
to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields[d] with fire.
10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
11 The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.