“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.”
[Ecclesiastes 3:1-8]
This week at Intercession we made some space to lament.
As we braced ourselves for the second stay-at-home order to be released, we made space to lean into the not-so-pretty feels. To bring our real and raw prayers to God; to intercede and pray into areas of brokenness and division.
Many of the psalms of lament get dark. Like, viewer discretion is advised dark. But then they end in praise. Which makes no sense and all the sense at the same time…
There is a time for everything.
In the days and weeks that follow, may we all pay attention to the ways the times are changing within us! It can be easy to track what’s going on out there somewhere… but what is truly stirring within your own heart? What is your attention returning to and why might that be? What would happen if you engaged with your thoughts for an extra moment or two? What if you actually brought them all before the Lord?
God is at work and so much nearer than it feels!! Press in and seek his presence!
Resist the things that fight for your attention and look for God in these moments… if he feels far away, cry out! There is a time to cry out for more of his presence, and a time to revel in it.
There is a time to fight temptation, and a time to celebrate overcoming it!
This is a time to mask up and keep our distance, and there WILL BE a time again when we get to draw near to one another and embrace again.
May we be people who persevere in the midst of difficulty! May we be people who acknowledge what is going on around us and people who respond with wisdom and with grace.
May we search for the Lord in every moment; may we remember all he has done and who he is.
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.
Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” (Psalm 46:1-7)
Jesus, you promised to be here with us!
We need you. Draw near to us today we pray.
Amen.