Take a moment to think of all the different people in this hospital at this very moment. Many of us are here as patients. Some have come in for a routine visit and others have come in from an unexpected crisis. Many of us are here to work: CEOs, nurses, housekeepers, clerks, physicians, chefs, volunteers, social workers, secretaries, and the list goes on. There are hundreds of us all present in one building, and we are all very different from one another.
Yet in spite of our differences, we each share a common bond because we have all been through trying times at some point in our lives. Perhaps a difficult time is on the horizon and you see it coming like a storm front. Maybe you’re in the thick of the storm, feeling battered by the wind, skin stinging from the rain pelting down on you. Or maybe you have weathered the storm and are enjoying the green grass and blue sky.
Whatever situation we might find ourselves in, we can hear the words of Psalm 46 and can fully enter into the world it depicts. A world that acknowledges the trying times yet presses on with hope for what will be.
Psalm 46
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.
Come and see the works of the LORD,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear,
he burns the shields with fire.
"Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."
The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
May we encourage one another to press on toward the hope we have in God, who is Almighty. And, whatever our life is like, may we each take a break from our busy lives simply to be still and know the Lord is God.
Yet in spite of our differences, we each share a common bond because we have all been through trying times at some point in our lives. Perhaps a difficult time is on the horizon and you see it coming like a storm front. Maybe you’re in the thick of the storm, feeling battered by the wind, skin stinging from the rain pelting down on you. Or maybe you have weathered the storm and are enjoying the green grass and blue sky.
Whatever situation we might find ourselves in, we can hear the words of Psalm 46 and can fully enter into the world it depicts. A world that acknowledges the trying times yet presses on with hope for what will be.
Psalm 46
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.
Come and see the works of the LORD,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear,
he burns the shields with fire.
"Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."
The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
May we encourage one another to press on toward the hope we have in God, who is Almighty. And, whatever our life is like, may we each take a break from our busy lives simply to be still and know the Lord is God.
Sweet Laura, I know you've been a blessing to the patients and various staff at Hendrick this summer. I am thankful for you and for your loving, patient heart. Thank you for reminding us to be still and honor our God.