Monday Morning Devotional

My church in Georgia has been putting together Daily Devotions that get emailed out every day and last week my pastor (hi Kim!) asked if I would be willing to write one for this morning.  I thought I would share it on here!

Psalm 46: 1-3, 10
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult. … ‘Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth.’

One night when I was a chaplain at Grady, I was called to the Operating Room to minister to the family and friends of a teenager who had been badly injured in a boating accident. I met the family around 8:00 in the evening and did not leave them until I was getting ready to turn over the pager next morning. It was a long, tragic and sleepless night.

At one point I was escorting family members and friends from the waiting room to the ICU when someone said to me, “I don’t know how you do your job.” Without even thinking I replied, “Sometimes I just have to pray my way through the night.”

I will never forget saying those words.

Life is not always fair; it is not always easy. We will all, at one point in our lives, experience something that will shake our foundation. Prayers may not be answered the way we want them to; cries will not necessarily be silenced.

And in those moments it is important to find a quiet moment and listen for the voice that says, “Be still, and know that I am God.” We need to listen for the voice that reminds us not of our own strength, but of God’s strength that surrounds us every day.

We do not need to be the strong ones.

Around 7:15 the next morning, I said goodbye to the family and headed down to give my report to the chaplains coming in for the day. On my way to the chaplain’s lounge, I stopped in the hospital cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee. I remember standing at the window, staring at the Atlanta skyline and traffic and starting to cry. I had made it through the night – and I knew without a doubt that I did not make it there alone.

Even amidst the hustle and bustle of breakfast and coffee seeking doctors and nurses, I could almost hear God’s voice saying, “Be still, and know that I am God.”


Prayer
God thank you for always giving me the strength to move forward, even in the darkest of moments. While I may never live in a world where tragedies and hardships cease, I know that I live in a world where I am never alone. Amen.