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Are you overwhelmed? Are the evils of this world upsetting you? Do you feel like everything around you is falling apart? …do you feel like you are falling apart? Welcome to the club. This thing is REAL. Real hard. My husband has coined the term “corona-coaster.” I don’t know if you are like me, but one day I’m great and the next I’m a mess.
We can try and use busy-ness to keep us afloat, but that can only help for so long. We can try and self-medicate with a glass of wine before bed. We can plan upcoming events to look forward to. We can re-decorate our homes, buy new furniture, look forward to a trip or even purchase that big-ticket item to make ourselves feel better, but those tactics are only temporary. They feel good for a moment but then we have to search for that next “something” that will get us by for the next day or week.
I don’t know about you, but I want to get off the “corona-coaster.” I’m tired of the ups and downs.
Could it be that God is using the corona-coaster to reveal all of our self-medicating tactics? Could it be that He is using this time for us to wake up and realize that our tactics aren’t as much fun or as satisfying as we once thought? Or that all the “things” that we are using as band-aids are just that…band-aids?
I believe the only way to get off of the coaster is to fix our eyes on the One who is the same yesterday, today and forever. The One who never changes. The One who isn’t driven by “good days” or “bad days.” The One who doesn’t get tired or worn out. The One who is in charge. The One who has a plan. The One who can be trusted and is faithful. So how do we do that? How do we take our eyes off of ourselves and put them on our Heavenly Father?
In my reading this morning, I came across 1 Chronicles 16:8-12. To set the context, David is bringing the ark of God back to Jerusalem (in those days, the ‘presence of God’ rested in the “ark of God”). He had a tent pitched and put the ark of God inside of it. After sounding lyres, harps, cymbals and trumpets, as a celebration to the Lord and His presence, David appointed the priests to praise the Lord through the following Scriptures. Join me as we lift off the harness keeping us in the corona-coaster and step out as we take our eyes off of everything that is going around us and put our eyes on God as we praise Him together…
Verse 8: Give praise to the LORD, proclaim his name;
Proclaim His name over your family, work, home, circumstances, feelings
make known among the nations what he has done.
Tell people about Him! Tell them what he has done in your life and the lives of others.
Verse 9: Sing to him, sing praise to him;
Worship Him through singing. Put on some worship music and sing!
tell of all his wonderful acts.
Remind yourself of His wonderful acts. List them.
Verse 10: Glory in his holy name;
The name of Jesus is holy and powerful. Say it out loud! Remind yourself how pure, holy, sovereign God is. List all the ways to glorify His holy name.
let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
Rejoice! Be glad. Be thankful. List everything you are thankful for.
Verse 11: Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.
Imagine yourself removing your eyes from everything around you and looking into the eyes of Jesus. Just like Peter did when Peter stepped out of the boat and onto the water. When Peter looked at the storm and the waves he began to sink, but as soon as his eyes were fixed on Jesus he could walk. Look into the eyes of Jesus.
Verse 12: Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced
Think about the times that God DID the impossible. About the times when He made a way when there seemed to be no way. About how He parted the Red Sea. About how He gave Sarah and Abraham a baby at the age of 90! About how He took David from a shepherd boy and made him king. About how He healed the lepers. About how He raised Lazarus from the dead. Remind yourself of what God has already done. List them!
When we praise God and put the focus BACK on Him, we are reminded of what a big, powerful, loving God we serve. It sure feels good to be back on solid ground and off the coaster. Bless you my friends! xoxo
