Darkest Day

     Yesterday was my worst day so far.  I have been VERY intentional about planning my day so that I don't have time to "what if"  and make something to look forward to.  Yesterday,  my big moment of the day was sidelined by technology. I fell quickly into the abyss of hopelessness.  I wrote all of these pieces over the last month,  each morning,  I edit and revise to post.  It's only fitting that this was today's post.  We are living in dark days. It’s easy and common to feel that God is silent. I’m not going  to debate the causes of this virus.  I don’t believe God sent it as punishment.  He may have removed  his hand to show us what a world without him looks like.  Max Lucado once said,  “we should not wonder at the evil of the world,  we should wonder that it’s not worse.”  A fallen world produces a lot of trouble. 
   I have been concerned that the Church is not taking Satan seriously for a while now.  In many ways,  I felt that we were ignoring his prowess.  Jesus was clear in his warnings about  the purpose of Satan.  In John 10:10,  right after giving the disciples a salvation message,  he told them in plain Hebrew,  “the thief comes ony to kill, steal and destroy”.  It’s his only objective.  His only plan for us.  
  Satan doesn’t just come to “kill’ the body,  he kills relationships.  He doesn’t just ‘steal’ our hearts,  he steals peace, common sense.  He destroys families, churches, people.  Years ago Pastor Jim Holder preached a series of messages called “Satan’s Devices”.  The how of Satan’s objective.  Fear.  One of Satan’s biggest weapons is Fear. 

  I’m afraid I will get Corona and die, or be sick forever.  

  I’m afraid my retirement is gone with the stock market crash.

  I’m afraid we will never go back to normal.

  I’m afraid this is going to get worse.

  I’m afraid we can’t buy food or medicine or toilet paper.

   I’m afraid I’ll never see my kids in person again. 

Afraid, scared, frightened, terrified, troubled.  And Satan,  his work done in your mind,  moves on to another unprotected soul.

  In the last part of that verse, Jesus says His purpose for us is a “rich and satisfying life”.  I don’t feel like I’m living His purpose today, this is anything but “rich and satisfying”.  Until I am reminded that Jesus meant “rich and satisfying” by His standards.  You’ve seen this on social media but it bears repeating.

And the People Stayed Home by Kitty O’Meara

And the people stayed home. And read books, and listened, and rested, and exercised, and made art, and played games, and learned new ways of being, and were still. And listened more deeply. Some meditated, some prayed, some danced. Some met their shadows. And the people began to think differently.  

And the people healed. And, in the absence of people living in ignorant, dangerous, mindless, and heartless ways, the earth began to heal.

And when the danger passed, and the people joined together again, they grieved their losses, and made new choices, and dreamed new images, and created new ways to live and heal the earth fully, as they had been healed.

Perhaps this is the rich and satisfying life, He came to give.  The one where I write everyday, read every genre and talk long walks outside instead of on the treadmill.  Where mornings are spent in His Word, listening to old and new songs, plenty of time to converse with Jesus,  'cause I've go no schedule to keep.  

Thinkin’ about  a new definiton of ‘rich and satisfying’ .  

Apologies for the formatting issues,  free hosting sites have their quirks.