by Joy Casey
The past weeks have been acutely interesting for everyone. Who would have imagined the doors of every church building closed by an unseen virus? Who could ever have imagined pastors grappling with the internet to live-stream weekly messages from their homes to feed the socially distanced sheep? While it is unwise to speculate on the particulars of what God is doing, I cannot but think He is truly at work across the face of the earth. From Europe to Ethiopia, from Asia to the Americas, lock-down measures are in place and communities, families and individuals are being forced to slow down.
God appears to have hit the ‘pause’ button.
Sitting with a steaming cup of tea enjoying the sunshine and bird song of early morning, a small, sweet voice spoke to me, “Come unto me and rest.” Yes, Lord. Gladly. I pause and think of Your majesty. Your sovereignty. Your grace. Your sufficiency. It is good to rest in Your presence rather than rush into the day. I also am aware that not all is idyllic; families are broken and weeping. For many, life is not good and we must do what we can, where we can. God uses us, His Church, to demonstrate His comfort to those He brings to our path.
I, for one, hope the lessons I am learning during this time of refocusing and refreshing will shape me as I (and my community) transition back into the hum and busyness of “life”.