Last month, I had written the article for the newsletter before Hurricane Helene. Now, as
I ponder this month’s article, that week at the end of September seems almost a lifetime
ago. How can this whole year, up to then, seem to have flown by so fast and the last thirty
days encompass so much? This is what my pondering has reminded me of and the message I share.
Since the beginning of the year we have faithfully prayed the Centenary Breakthrough
Prayer and have lifted up Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God...." When we do not
embrace the stillness, circumstances can be filled with anxiety, trauma, fear, and confusion
and we pray continually for restoration from those. Yet, in the midst of all the circum-
stances/disasters that bring on these feelings for some, when we are still, we experience
God that is so much bigger than all we go through. AND GOD, has filled this last 30 days
with a vastness of His Glory everywhere. That is why I was feeling that these last days have encompassed so much...
Because God is so much and I will never, on this earth plane, be able to take in or under-
stand how much that is.
Right now we tend to think in terms of caring for those that were affected by the hurri-
cane, but truly so many others are being helped as well, and there is ‘more than enough’ to
go around. The homeless have received blankets and coats to stay warm and shelters that were not open to them before, opened for warmth (in more ways than physical warmth). Those that struggle week to week have been able to get some supplies and as a result can maybe pay for medicine they go without or maybe even a roast for a family meal instead of Hamburger Helper. God’s awesome abundance flows to all His children.
God has given unending compassion, love, care, hospitality, and acceptance wherever we
turn. Humanity has been awakened, revived, and overflowing with grace. Is that not what we have prayed for? We did not pray for a disaster to bring us to it, but in the midst of disaster God meets us with answers to our prayers.
As we end October and begin November, I share the post below from UMC Church and Society.
Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God”
- Pastor Linda
