Psalm 23; 1 Samuel 15:22-31; Ephesians 5:1-9

Psalm 23 seems very fitting in our current times. It is so easy to lose sight of the God we worship when things seem so dismal here on Earth. We have daily reminders with the 24 hour news cycle plus social media to give us the daily statistics of the spread of Covid-19. As horrible as it all may be, we have to keep the faith. 

Verse 2: he makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside still waters

Verse 3: he restores my soul

Verse 4: Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil, for you are with

me; your rod and staff, they comfort me

Verse 5: my cup overflows

Verse 6: surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life

We are going to make it through this together, supporting each other, and with God at our sides to pick us up when we are feeling down. Earlier today, Dale Ambler posted something on social media that I want to share in case you aren’t on Facebook, because he said it way more eloquently than I can. He said “Friends, hope is the one thing that we have and together, pushing aside the negativity around us I believe we will find a way through the darkness…not on our own but by the love and grace of God!!” 

As I’ve had lots of extra time these past few days to think about all of this, I know that I am not nervous, or scared, or any of that. I know that we will come out of this much stronger than before it first began. 

So I leave you with the words that I hear so often at the benediction of each worship service, from Numbers 6:24-26. 24 “‘“The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”’