What are you looking at?

In this time of fear and anxiety about the threat of well-being to you and your loved ones we need to make sure we are looking at the right things.

In Psalm 40:5, David says: “You have multiplied O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and thoughts towards us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told.”

It is believed that David wrote this Psalm upon being delivered from some pressing trouble which was overwhelming him. I would say the current pandemic is a pressing and at times overwhelming trouble.

After reading Psalm 40, I have had to ask myself, “Am I seeing the many wondrous deeds and hearing the wondrous thoughts of God?”  Or is what I am seeing and what I am hearing blocking out the truths about God?

Truths of Wonder
Reading about the wonders of God always lifts up my faith. The mighty deeds of God remind me of the power, the supreme authority and the steadfast love of God.

Remembering who God is directs my focus on him and takes it off of me or my circumstances.

In these troublesome times think back on the wondrous deeds of God and let these remembrances cause you to bow in praise to God and fill your heart with faith in our Father’s love and care for you.

Presented below are some of the “mighty deeds” of God. I encourage you to take time to read the references, meditate on them and turn your focus on God.

God Divides the Sea
In Exodus 14:10-31, the Israelites had been freed from Egypt but now being pursued by Pharaoh and his army. Their backs were up against the Red Sea with nowhere to flee. They are full of fear, panic and thoughts of impending doom. They resort to fear, regret and blame.

Wow, does their reaction sound familiar to you? In deeply troublesome times I have said, “Where are you God? I trusted you. Why are you letting this happen?”

What about now as you and your families face the pandemic. Do you feel an inner tug of war between trusting God and blaming him? With each new report of more cases or even friends having the virus do you ride a wave of faith and fear, up and down, in and out ?

In Exodus 14:13-14, Moses advised the people to be still, to hush their fears, to stand back and watch the deliverance of the Lord. Moses did not panic and scream, “Run for your lives.” He did not even direct the fighting men among them to take up shield and sword. He turned their eyes and hearts to trust God.

• “Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Exodus 14:13-14

The truth is that no matter how bleak the circumstances, God is fighting for us. In seen and unseen ways God delivers us. During the pandemic, each of us is fighting to gain a sense of stability in our faith.

What God did as recorded in Exodus 14 is true. Look at the God of that truth and be encouraged. Take time to share with another person how the truth of God in Exodus 14 encourages you.

The Walls Fall Down
In Joshua 6, we read of the account of how God brought down the protective walls of Jericho for Joshua and Israel.

In Joshua 6:1, we read that the gates of Jericho were securely barred, no one went out and no one went in. We do not always see how God is going to deliver us.

Anyone looking on might consider it an insurmountable task to take this city. It was not immediately evident as to how this would occur.

Perhaps some of the Israelites were saying, “This is impossible, we don’t have the resources or equipment needed to get through this wall and take the city.” Others, may have been sitting around the camp fire making plans of how to do it.

But God, gave a plan to Joshua. God’s plan had nothing to do with resources or the strategy and strength of man.

• “Then the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men…” Joshua 6:2

The Israelites followed the plan of God. They marched around the city, as prescribed, carrying the ark of the covenant with them which signified God’s presence with them.

• “When Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets before the Lord went forward, blowing their trumpets, and the ark of the Lord’s covenant followed them… When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so everyone charged straight in, and they took the city.” Joshua 6:8, 20

In Hebrews 11:30, we read: “By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days.” So it was not the men, or the resources that brought down the wall, but God’s power and their faith in God.

In the same way today as we face the seemingly impenetrable wall of this pandemic, it is the presence of God and faith that will bring it down.

Our trust in God will bring down our wall of fear, of anxiety, of questioning the goodness of God, of frustration and sorrow. Our trust in God healing and taking down the walls of the corona virus.

This account of God bringing down the walls of Jericho reminds me of:

• the wisdom of God;
• of his strength in my weakness;
• and in God bringing about good and teaching good in all things.

As I reflect on the account of the walls of Jericho, I am making a choice to trust that God has a plan, and that He is working on our behalf in ways I do not understand or readily see.

Can you imagine the conversations of the Israelites after the battle; “Did you see that? What just happened here? Did you feel the earth shake?”

Let’s open our eyes of faith and see God helping us, strengthening us, reviving us drawing us, restoring us and holding us close as we walk through this with Him.

Imagine the conversations we will have of the many mighty ways God has worked during this time!