40 Days of Embracing Uncertainty - Day 23 (for Monday, March 23)

If you’ve been following this blog for these past 22 days, you’ve been wondering what happened to me the past three days.  Honestly, I wish I could put my finger on it.  I think I hit a wall.  With everything that has been going on the past month, I just smacked into an emotional, intellectual, and mental wall.  Believe it or not, on Monday, I had read the devotion for this particular day – Day 23 – all about the coming of the kingdom of heaven on earth.  I looked at the computer screen and waited for inspiration.  But nothing came.  No clever little story from my past.  No apparent connection to today’s worldly issues.  Not even a commentary on that particular text. 

I had nothing.  Just a creative block in my head.  So, I did the only thing I could do. 

I didn’t do anything.  I took a brief hiatus.  

I stepped back for a couple of days to recharge my imagination, my intellect, my emotions, and even, yes, my spirit.  I would love to believe that had I been experiencing this in those New Testament times, Jesus would take me aside and tell me we need to go to the hills and rest a while.  I wouldn’t have argued. 

So here I am, three days later - back in the fold.  I was talking to someone whom I have tremendous respect for today who told me that perhaps one can only talk about the coronavirus for so long or highlight the pandemic situation we discover ourselves in today that can only be dissected so many times before it seems like you’re just repeating yourself.  It was a good point.  But I did wonder about the last paragraph posed in the devotional: 

“If you are going through a particularly tough time of uncertainty in your life at the moment, Jesus’ words are an invitation to embrace it, not hide from it.  As you enter and embrace the darkness, do you know what you will discover?  God is right there.  Closer than you think.”

The writer of the devotional book “Embracing the Uncertain” has been spot on nearly every single day.  Every day of devotions have spoken loudly to what we have been dealing with in this world today.  In retrospect, I wasn’t trying to hide from the struggle or the chaotic days we’ve been experiencing lately.  At least, I don’t think I was trying to run from it.  Up until this point, I was right in the mix, ready to take it all on knowing and trusting that the Lord has always been by our side. 

I was just having a moment – not unlike Elijah in the cave when he ran from his enemy.  He stood in that cave waiting for a directive from God to help him get through the chaos.  He didn’t find it in the earth, wind or fire.  He found it in the still small voice of God – “What are you doing here, Elijah?” God asked.  From that moment, Elijah found his way and continued to be a blessing, leading the people.

I believe we all have to take a moment a time or two to simply be silent… to reflect… to consider how God is present in the moments we live.  As we embrace the uncertainty of these moments, don’t apologize if you need to check out for a time. 

I’m certainly not going to.  Because I trust that God is in control.  I hear His still small voice: "What are you doing here, Daren?"  When I hear that voice, it's time to get going again.