II Kings 19:26 – “while their inhabitants. shorn of strength, are dismayed and confounded, and have become like plants of the field and like tender grass, like grass on the housetops, blighted before it is grown.
What a description Isaiah is bringing as a prophet of God, the people are in distress, you and I can at times be in distress. We can feel like we have no power against the circumstances of our lives in seasons of pain, loss, and confusion. God recognizes our situation. The next verse starts with “but”. It’s always significant when God starts to speak and the prophet precludes this with the word “but”.
Right now however we may also be in those circumstances that cause confusion, pain, and anxiety, and that is real for many of us today in this emerging post-covid world. We can focus on all our concerns, all the things the news media tell us are going wrong, as well as our own set of challenges that we can do little or nothing about. When we focus on these we can easily spiral down hey?
But, if we focus on the character of God, His nature, His goodness, and His promises, we can find real hope. Alongside this, we can focus on the things we can do. We can pray, we can fast, we can buy someone a cup of coffee, or take a homeless person a croissant and a coffee hey? So many things we can do, we can influence today.
Principle of Change 66 – intentionally decide to focus today on what you can do.
Strength – Command – you will say it as it is and others will trust you for that, and you will lead others to safety when there is chaos.
Blessings
Allan