Messiness in Our Faith Life ~ Chris Keim

Staff, March 16, 2021

“Be still and know that I am God.” ~Psalm 46:10

Before the pandemic, I would have argued that being still was not in my nature.  At the beginning of all of this, I felt very antsy staying home all of the time.  It was very strange, not going out, not going to church, and not doing my parish nurse hustle and bustle for Hephatha.  Suddenly thrust into the world of virtual church, it was a little disorienting.  I am however; very thankful for virtual church because it has kept me connected to worship and to others in the church.
I will say that in this last year, my faith has been strengthened.  I have made myself take time to sit and be still in the morning; praying and meditating.  There has been a lot of fear mongering in the media over the last year and I knew if I paid too much attention to what was going on in the news, I would struggle with anxiety, and so I turned to God in the quiet of the morning. Making a regular practice has helped me to look to God for the answers and the solutions to the issues that come up in my life.  I have found that my mind DOES NOT have the answers.  It’s a new and very amazing realization that as I sit with the expectation in prayer that God does indeed have the answer and that he will let me know what it is; more times than not, the answer just seems to show up.  This has really strengthened my faith that God knows me, is with me, he hears me and answers me.  This has been a humbling experience too because I used to believe if I just thought hard enough, I could come up with the answers.
So this has brought me to a place of not being thankful for the pandemic, but thankful for the time to be still.

Dear Gracious Lord, You are my God.  Help me to be still and bring my worries to you.  In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.