9. Welcome to day 9 of our 4 week prayer adventure.

“Thus says the Lord: ‘Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls.’”Jeremiah 6:16

I love this verse! Notice it says: stand, look, (observe), and ask (inquire, pray about,) about that good way whereby all the godly people down through the ages have walked in, which is by a simple faith and trust in God, and if you actually do this, you will find rest, peace, for your souls. By the way, we have a soul. We are not animals. What a terrible thing to say to someone that they are just a more evolved animal; when the truth is we are made in the image of God, a real wonder, a real work of God’s grace and craftsmanship. In a world clamoring for peace these days, be reminded that we do have a soul and we can be at rest when we find our rest in God.

But we are in a unique moment in the history of our world as a modern society. Not only has this latest virus affected us powerfully physically, but also psychologically and socially in a way we’ve never known before. All sports have been shut down. All restaurants are closed to eat-in diners, entertainment venues closed, travel almost non-existent, it’s like the world has been put on pause.

Soren Kierkegaard once said: “If God spoke into the world, would anyone hear Him?” And he said: “No, they wouldn’t because there is too much noise.” The martyred missionary, Jim Elliot, one of my heroes, said that the devil likes to specialize in ‘noise, hurry and crowds.’ That if he can keep us so busy and in a hurry, always having to listen to something or always having to be in a crowd, then he can keep us from listening to God.

And notice what has happened. It’s like the whole world is being forced to hit the pause button. Those who know the Lord and are yet still anxious and those who don’t know the Lord are wondering: ‘Maybe my way of interpreting the world and what I’ve been trusting in is not working anymore,’ that this is a time that God is speaking.

In what ways is God getting your attention? In what things have you been trusting in? Even Christians are prone to inadvertently put other things in their lives in the place only God should have.

Have you been seeing your health as some kind of birthright or more as a gift; that we can be thankful for?

God loves us too much to leave us to our own devices. He is calling us to listen to Him, especially as He speaks through His Word. He is the ultimate promise-keeper, we can trust Him.

Not everyone in our church receives these email devotionals; some do not have internet access. I have been trying to call on the phone a number of them but I would like to encourage you to do the same. If you think of someone shut-in, perhaps give them a quick call just to see how they are doing; it will encourage them.