When We are in Distress

Scripture: But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in distress, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, when you turn to the Lord your God and obey His voice (for the Lord your God is a merciful God), He will not forsake you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them. Deuteronomy 4:29-31

Observation: As Moses provides final instructions to the Israelites, he predicts that they will, sometime in the future, turn away from the Lord. Yet even from that place of rebellion and where the Lord will have anger against them, when they turn back in prayer and seek the Lord, he will have mercy upon them. The Lord judges, but he is also fully merciful.

Application: On February 27, I was instructed to work-from-home indefinitely as part of the pandemic. As a state we were ordered into "social isolation" on March 13. It is now April 6, and the stay-home orders have been extended to at least May 4. And honestly ... I am depressed and frustrated. There are MANY worse off than me, but I am sad about the situation.

However, today - and every day - I trust in the Lord. We are all in distress, and I turn to the Lord my God as my comfort, my hope, my father, and my instructor. In this, I have full confidence of long-term delivery for the Lord is in fact merciful.

Along with MANY other people, I am in distress. Today and every day, I will obey his voice.

Prayer: Lord, turn your face to shine upon your people today. Please give me the strength to be that light for others, as you give me that light this day and every day. I ask for only my daily bread, enough strength for today, knowing that tomorrow you will provide more. Thank you for guiding us through these times. Amen.