Pray, Wait, Rejoice!
As the days went by more and more news broke about more cases of COVID-19 individuals and statewide emergencies were being declared left and right, the stress in my heart started to rise . There were feelings of powerlessness, uncertainty, and worry that started to fill my heart this as each new update was released. I found out through social media that my church would be streaming Sunday service online for the next month or more and was in shock but understood completely. I decided this was the time to come out of my blogging hiatus; its been two whole years. Every Monday Lord willing I will write a mini-blogette about Sunday's sermon. I am praying that this will encourage, inspire, and help you to focus on Jesus during the week.
In this sermon the title of the message was Even Through Distressing Times God Is At Work. The book that the Pastor was coming from was Habakkuk. The three takeaways that I received from Sunday's sermon were as follows:
1. We can lament and cry out to the Lord about all the turmoil and chaos that we see around us and our inability to control it. We can call out to the Lord because He is faithful to hear us.
Psalm 66:19
But truly God has listened, he has attended to the voice of my prayer.
2. After we have lamented to God now is our opportunity to trust and wait for Him to answer. This is the most difficult but the Lord will give you the strength. We also have to release our control to God realizing He is in control.
Habakkuk 2:20
The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before Him.
Psalm 130:5
I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,
and in his word I put my hope.
3. The last takeaway is to keep rejoicing even during the emptiness. Keep looking for Him do a mighty work like He has done so many times before.
Habakkuk 3:17-19
Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.
The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to tread on the heights.
As I go through the week I will meditate on these verses and pray, wait on the Lord, and continue to rejoice in who He is His Sovereignty over everything. I hope that you were encouraged by these takeaways from Sunday's service. If you were blessed by these three takeaways let me know in the comments.
I love Psalm 130 – no matter what is going on, I can wait for Him with hope! Blessings!
Deb Wolf on