Day 2 - Anchor yourself in God's word
This morning I was back out on the
lakefront listening to worship music and enjoying the morning. On the second
day of my reflections on how best to use this time of trial I have been
thinking about anchoring ourselves in the word of God. As I walked along the
lakefront I was just thinking about various promises in scripture. Paul says, “And we know that in all things
God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called
according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).” I have been meditating on the
fact, that even though I am grieving the fear we are all experiencing, those
who are sick right now, and the loss of so many lives, I realize that God is
using this time to humble us. There are things that are happening in our souls
that are eternally important. We are thinking about our values and priorities.
We are thinking about things in our lives from a new perspective.
We typically wake up tired and
complain about the morning commute and the weather. We may be frustrated with
what is going on in our lives, but this is giving us a chance to stop and
reflect on everything that is truly valuable. God wants to use this time in our
lives to refine us. I think about how
Peter says that our faith is like gold, and it is being refined by the fire (I
Peter 1:6-7). I think of what James says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers
and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that
the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish
its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything
(James 1:2-4).”
I have also been thinking about
how the church is being refined. So
often we can be focus on programs and church services, and yet the church is
the people of God. The scriptures say, “When I shut up the heavens so that
there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among
my people, if my people, who are called by my name,
will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from
their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will
forgive their sin and will heal their land (II Chronicles
7:13-14). God wants to refine out of our lives so many of these things so that
our hearts are devoted to him. My hope
also is that others would reflect on their lives and faith and that God will
use this time to bring many to Himself.
Let me encourage you to anchor
yourself in the word of God, to remember his promises, whether that is
meditating on a verse a day or whether that is reading scripture for extended
periods of time. Take time out to listen to God's word and meditate on it, and
let it change your perspective today.
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