Everything Has Changed--But the Best Stuff HAS NOT CHANGED

I’m sitting this morning drinking my coffee on the front porch. It’s the best time and place for peace and reflection. And prayer. Have you found that time and place for yourself? I pray you do. 

I’m enjoying the Daily Hope email devotions from Pastor Rick Warren. Many of you will remember his book “Purpose-Driven Life”. If you’re looking for a way to focus your life and live with purpose and be inspired by God, it’s a great place to start.

Anyway, after reading today’s devotion about how Jesus left us a “tour guide for life” in the Holy Spirit after he ascended to heaven (thank you God!), I closed my eyes to reflect and pray and I was struck by some things. 

Right now it feels like the whole world is upside down. I made the mistake of letting the first things I read this morning be some news of violence and tragedy, then of political hostility, then of virus case numbers and complications. And I laid in bed and prayed, “Jesus! Come back soon! This world is a disaster!” Nothing feels like it used to or like it should. It seems like everything has changed.

But as I sit here on this porch I am surrounded by the sounds of dozens of species of birds singing and calling out to each other. They were prompted by the rising of the sun to start their song, just like yesterday. Are they praising God for causing another sunrise? I think it sounds like that. And that is something that remains the same this spring even though the world is upside down compared to last spring. That birds still sing for God has not changed.

My humanness wants to yell out to them, “Why are you still singing? Do you know what is going on in the world? This is a mess. There’s so much despair. Don’t you know today isn’t as song-worthy as it should be? Are you fools?!” But I know better. I think they know something I’m forgetting to think about when I want to say those things to them. 

They know God is still on the throne. That He knows each of them fully and cares for them, the bird and also the flowers. He tells us that in His word. (Luke 12) And He insists that He cares for us even more. Knowing His heart, He is surely grieving and aching for us in this suffering. Even more so, He is longing for us to look to Him and draw near to Him and lean into him for hope, comfort, reassurance and love. That’s the best possible outcome from this situation, that we will grow closer to Him. He has always been about relationship with us. That has not changed.

The birds are singing such a strong joyful song. I can’t help but think they are reacting to the knowledge of how wide and long and deep and high the love of God is for them. And for us! You too! These birds seem to know that His love is overwhelming and they’re compelled to cry out in praise in response. God’s love is unconditional and extravagant. That has not changed. 

God knew we would go through this. It seems like everyday we are hit again with a new blow of change and difficulty. But this is no surprise to God. And just as He knew this would happen, He has promised to provide for us the strength and wisdom to navigate it if we are following his lead and depending on him for that strength and wisdom beyond our own. It’s ours to have because He is our ever-loving, never failing Father. That has not changed.

We have a hope that goes beyond this present set of circumstances. God doesn’t promise that walking with Him will mean no pain, no difficulty, no challenge, an easy life. He does promise that He will provide the strength to stand up under our burdens when we depend on Him for that strength. And He doesn’t promise that we’ll even survive every challenge. Not on earth anyway. The promise remains that we have an eternal home without pain and suffering in heaven. That is the hope we depend on. That heaven is there and Our Father will welcome us home there no matter how this ends has not changed. 

It seems everything has changed if we look around. But if we look up, we see that the biggest, most important things have not changed. Not one bit. Thank you God!

--Krista