Slow Down

One morning during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, as I prepared for my daily devotions, I prayed that in whatever I read, God would lead me to understand and be able to apply it to my life. I prayed about the pandemic and asked that —however it might affect my life, even if it were to take my life— my trust in God would remain strong. Upon opening the book I had been reading, the title on the page leaped out at me: “Life on Pause.” Yep, that’s the way many of us were feeling.

We certainly felt that way if we were trying to put into practice the social-distancing and isolation recommendations being given by government officials and healthcare workers appearing on television newscasts each day in an attempt to limit the spread of the dreaded disease. In Leviticus 13, God gave the first social-distancing guideline to limit the spread of infectious diseases.

But the text that the devotional writer had chosen for that day gave me a boost of hope and assurance. “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10, KJV). In other words, the Lord is saying, “Calm down. I’m in control. No need for worry.” So, in that time of a little less connection with the people around me, God had just offered me an increased opportunity to connect with Him and make my relationship with Him grow stronger. And this is just what I will need to see me through these last days before Jesus returns for His faithful children. There’s nothing I want more than to be ready for that blessed day. Taking advantage of the opportunity to know Him better, learning to walk closer to Him with more sure footsteps, working with Him in sharing the gospel of the kingdom, and increasing my faith in Him—these are my goals for the rest of my time on this earth. It’s sometimes very hard to make oneself settle down and take the needed time each day to gather strength from the only Source of living bread and water for our spiritual sustenance. But I can’t face the hardships and uncertainties of this life on my own.

I need to know and trust the One who supplies all my needs.

Please join me in taking advantage of moments like these to come more fully into the Divine Presence.

Sylvia Sioux Stark