I thought I would repost some blogs during this COVID-19 quarantine to encourage you, and me.

 

Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; 

       my hope comes from him.

Psalm 62:5 (NIV)

What’s your greatest fear? My counselor must have asked me that dozens of times during the course of my time with her. Depending on the circumstances, some days it was finances, others security. Often it was loneliness. Today, it might be health or lack of it. I jotted down a sentence recently that started me thinking: Whatever you fear is where you put your hope.

I better not trust in my bank account these days. The jitters hit everyone during the last two years as the value of our assets dropped. 

Security? Are you like my grandgirlie, Tori, who likes to have all her “peeps” around?  Friends and family move. I move. Divorce happens. Illness and death steal away loved ones.

I have been both alone and lonely. Usually it is pretty easy to solve the alone part by picking up the phone and calling a friend to go out to dinner or a movie. But loneliness strikes at our core. Am I loved? Do people even like me? What’s wrong with me?

As a young woman, I never thought about my health. I didn’t have any problems and as typical of that age, I thought I was invincible. Interesting how age changes that perspective. Daily living becomes a challenge when things begin to fall apart. In fact, you can’t even count on tomorrow. I don’t fear death but dying is a little scary. 

Fears? Yes. But rather than having them overtake us, cripple or destroy us, turn them over to the One who made us. Jesus is our hope and gives rest to our soul. Lay them at the foot of the cross. 

Let the lyrics of a song by Mercy Me refresh and encourage you:

“In You”

I put my hope in You 

I lay my life in palm of your hand 

I’m constantly drawn to You Lord 

In ways I cannot comprehend 

It’s the Creator calling the created 

The Maker beckoning the made 

The bride finding what she’s always waited for 

When we find ourselves that day 

[CHORUS:]

In You where the hungry feast at the table 

The blind frozen by colors in view 

The lame will dance, They’ll dance for they are able 

And the weary find rest 

Oh the weary find rest in You 

It’s no secret that we don’t belong here 

Those set apart by the grace of You 

And we look for the day when we go to a place 

Where the old becomes brand new 

Originally posted 9/24/10