A Gateway to Understanding Your Bible
Lord when I don’t see you
Help me know you’re there
Lord when I can’t hear you
Show me just how much you care
In desperate times I need to know
You give a love that won’t let go
I’m holding on, oh Lord, I’m holding on
© March 2020
When the view from my window feels small or limited, I rest a moment with Jesus.
I had to pull back from the computer this past week-end. Lately, it feels like my whole life has been reduced to a window on a computer. I needed to rest my eyes on the beauty of God’s creation, the colorful spring flowers, pink and purple tulips, and the last of the yellow daffodils, complimented by a fresh green backdrop.
My life during the week has been filled with workshops and webinars, typing articles on a computer, and catching up on communication, all online.
I needed to step away from my limited view and look around me.
All of this learning and communication is good, it’s just too much all at once. My head needed a pause.
What I didn’t let go of was Jesus. I’ve been journaling every morning, ten minutes or a few pages, whatever I feel prompted to do. This time with Jesus helps settle my soul, my heart, and my thoughts.
My day still ends up being filled with projects, but it goes much better having started the day with Jesus.
So for a moment, no computer. Well except for typing this because I can type faster than I can write by hand and I don’t want to have to type up my handwritten notes tomorrow.
And while I won’t have all my online social connections, I will have one connection that matters close at hand throughout the day, Jesus.
Have you tried taking a moment to spend time with Jesus?
The easiest way I know is to simply pause, sit back, and breathe.
I don’t have to know what the next step is. I just rest in the moment, however brief.
With spring flowers blooming I like to set my gaze on God’s glorious creation, which I can’t do from my computer, another reason to step away from this spot.
If you can’t step away from your computer right now, take a moment to look away from it, sit back, and rest a moment with Jesus.
May your heart find peace in the moment.
“Return to your rest, my soul,
for the Lord has been good to you.” Psalm 116:7 NIV
In you, oh Lord, I find my strength.
In you, oh Lord, I find my rest.
Let the Praises Ring by Susan Brehmer
All it takes is one light to shine into the darkness
All it takes is one heart to lift a song in praise
When you lift your voice and sing
It changes everything
So shine your light
Lift your voice
Let the praises ring
© March 2020
In times when we are not able to connect with one another in person, we may feel isolated. Here are some ways we can lovingly interact with people and intentionally reconnect.
Even though we are intentionally physically separating, we can still connect and interact with people safely in a loving way. A smile can be offered from a safe distance, as can kind thoughts toward one another. We can extend the love and grace that God gives to us to others, remembering that each person is one of God’s precious children.
For many of us, times of separation mean not attending the usual activities or social gatherings we are accustomed to in person. If we don’t make an effort to connect with others, we may start to feel isolated. People we know may also feel isolated.
How can we reconnect when we’re not gathering together?
We can still safely reach out via phone calls, texts, emails, and various modes of video connections. We can smile and wave to our neighbors.
This is also a great opportunity to write a note and send a card or handwritten letter to someone.
We can pray for one another.
Now more than ever we need to connect to one another. When we can’t meet in person, we can do one better. We can meet by heart.
Who do you know in need of a personal connection or social interaction?
Pray. Take a moment and ask God,
“Who needs to hear from someone today?
Who would benefit from knowing someone thought of them today?”
Listen. God wants to speak to us. Often we just need to give Him space to do so.
A person’s name may come to mind. We may sense in our heart that someone needs to hear from us. We might also receive an email or text and learn that a friend’s loved one is alone and could use a card. We might remember a friend or family member who lives alone.
God speaks into our hearts, places thoughts in our minds, and communicates with us through people and situations around us. If we are open to realizing God can speak to us in this manner, we are more likely to recognize when He does.
Remembering God’s love for us and all His children can place us in a frame of mind that helps us see the grocery store clerk as somebody who could use an encouraging word of thanks. It may also remind us to pray for medical workers, emergency responders, teachers, delivery workers, and other service personnel on the front lines, or families trying to navigate new territory.
Prayer is intentional connection. I have been involved in groups of people who pray for one another. So often a friend who needed prayer has responded afterward, “I felt your prayers.”
Not sure how to pray? I shared some thoughts in a recent post.
Here are a few words you can use to pray for someone:
“Lord, you know what this person is going through, what they need. I lift their name up to you and ask you to watch over them.”
Feel free to come up with your own words. God hears our prayers.
A smile, a thought, a note, a card, a prayer.
How can you connect with someone today?
“‘“The Lord bless you
and
keep you;
the
Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
the
Lord turn his face toward you
and
give you peace.”’ Numbers 6:24-26 NIV
Want to have this blessing sung over you? Michael Card sings a beautiful lullaby based on this Scripture.
In times of uncertainty when we feel anxious, it helps to know how to connect to the source of hope and peace.
Last summer, which now seems so long ago, I went on a bike ride through a long, dark tunnel that had me praying a Jesus prayer. You know, one of those foxhole prayers when you need a lifeline because the circumstances you find yourself in feel really overwhelming.
It doesn’t matter if you’re the only one having that experience. When you’re worried or distressed, knowing that other people aren’t can be comforting, but sometimes that’s not enough.
What is helpful is knowing that Jesus is with us when we feel that way. A simple call out to Jesus can bring us closer to a place of peace.
May you find comfort, maybe a little humor at my predicament last summer, in how I coped in the darkness.
Coping in the darkness – a guiding light
Maybe my experience and moment of prayer will encourage you in your own prayers.
Simple and desperate prayers are always okay to pray.
“We put our hope in the Lord.
He is our help and our shield.
In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.
Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord,
for our hope is in you alone.” Psalm
33:20-22 NLT
Sometimes songs speak the words our hearts need to hear. I heard this song today and it spoke to mine. Perhaps it will speak to yours too.