​Don’t Give Up....
 
Philippians 1:6
6And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
 
I needed to be reminded of this verse this week because in all the stress of COVID, I will admit, I have wanted to just throw my hands in the air and quit.   It’s just like one moment you have something figured out, and something changes and then it’s back to the beginning of the process.   I am planner by nature, although some people say I never look like I plan.  I call that planned spontaneity.   I like to think out in the future to plan and dream, but it’s like I have been in survival mode the past few weeks and months.
These days, I plan our worship services each week, but I have always been a month ahead, but not these days.   I will admit, sometimes I just don’t know what to do.
 
It’s been in those times the past few days that the Lord has used this sense of unsettledness to remind me He is in control.  This verse in Philippians came up in a devotion I am reading through and it was just what I needed.  God has not forgotten me or you.  He is in the midst of everything we are dealing with today, tomorrow and in the future to come.   He is doing a work in us.  He is making us more into him image and He will continue to do this until He returns. 
 
So, I ask you, do you know God loves you more than can be explained and he is for you.  He wants the best for each of us, but he will continue to guide us each day because He wants us to trust Him.   I pray that today you will in your own way, ask the Lord to comfort you and lead you through these days.

​Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him.  He alone is my rock and my salvations, my fortress where I will not be shaken.  My victory and honor come from God alone. He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me. O my people, trust in him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge.
Psalm 62:5-8
 
I have been told how loud I can be my whole life.   I love to laugh loud, sing loud, and enjoy life loud.   My mouth has gotten me in more trouble than any other thing in my life.   I can remember my Mimi, telling me, don’t play the piano quiet so loud, God can hear you just fine.   I still struggle with this in my life, but I am learning to be quiet more.   I have learned how to sometimes just listen.   My back porch in the morning can be one of the quietest places I know, and I love to sit and watch the sun come up and hear the buzz of the hummingbirds.
It’s a good thing to sometimes just be quiet and listen.   
 
God loves it when his children wait on him and in that waiting free themselves from all other distractions.   It’s like playing hide and seek, and you go hide and you almost want to hold your breath because you want to be as quiet as possible.  We need times just like that to enter God’s presence and allow him to be able to comfort us.    God is the ultimate rock and sure foundation and as his word says, “Nothing can separate you from that.”  You realize this when you quiet yourself.
 
I have been learning in these days of social distancing that these quiet times help me trust the Lord more.  I think it’s because without all the noise in my life, I know he is near.   When God is near, a few things happen.   Your thoughts automatically begin to praise him, and he becomes a safe refuge for you. I need that safe place in my life many times and I am glad to find it.
 
So when was the last time, you just put down your phone, walked outside and listened?  For me it has been something I have to make myself do, but I know I am better for it when I do.  I come away with the sense that God is really in control and I can trust him!