I don’t know about you, but this whole season of dealing with COVID-19 has been pretty wild for me. Even as I sit down to write this, I have an undeniable feeling that I will be learning from this season for many years to come. There is something deeply unsettling about our routines being shaken up and this is really my first time experiencing something like this as an adult. Now, I’ve never been a particularly anxious person, but I have to admit, I have experienced some anxiety over the past few weeks and I have had to have some pretty honest conversations about it with myself and with God. I can’t say for certain if there is an overarching theme or lesson to be learned for this season just yet, at least for myself, but it seems to be in the small things where I have seen God the most recently.
After a few weeks of being quarantined to my home, a particular date was swiftly approaching, one that I dread year after year. It is the date that reminds me every year just how fragile life can be. On April 14th, 2004, my dad, my hero, passed away from a rare cancer. I would have to write a book on what I have learned and am still learning through that experience but suffice to say, as much has God has taught me, April 14th is still my least favorite day of every year. I woke up on April 14th, 2020, just a few weeks ago, only to find the main level of my house covered in more than an inch of standing water. There is no expression, no meme nor any idiom that could capture my feelings in that moment. It was almost comical that on this particular day of all days, something like this would occur. I had to dig deep. I realized in that moment that I had two choices. I could look down or I could look up. I could either focus on myself and wallow in self-pity, or I could look up and recognize where my help comes from!
Now I want to be very clear, this is easier said than done. I do not wish to over-simplify the decision to be made here in looking to the Lord but in His grace and strength, I looked up and recognized that I was not alone. My sister and brother-in-law had stayed at my house that night and they immediately sprung to action. My wife came home at 8am after working a night shift and hugged me and assured me everything would be ok. My grandfather came over and stopped the water. I could go on, but my point is this: in the midst of chaos, God is ever constant and unchanging. Sure, you’ve probably heard that before but there is no substitute for God’s peace that passes all understanding, which is why it is all the more important to remember in this season! There is no feeling that can match the truth that God’s presence is surrounding us, even now. When I fail to look up and recognize Him, I lose focus so quickly! The world starts to become more and more about me, and less and less about Him.
To whomever finds themselves reading this, please know this: you are loved. You are seen and you are heard. Your voice matters. Your presence matters. The same God who constructed the universe put breath in your lungs and what a blessing it is to use that breath to worship Him. You are not alone. God’s promises to do not fade. Now more than ever, it is important to make the distinction that worship is not music. Music is part of worship of course but that is not where it starts or ends. Worship is the position of our hearts. The more we can learn to look up and recognize God, the deeper we will move into worshiping Him in spirit and in truth. I know these times are crazy, but we are in this together and we serve a God that we can always, always trust.
by Lance Asher of Foothills Collective