In the Bible there are words that can provide comfort when you feel anxious and pressed on every side and need comforting: “God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction.” In times like what we are living now, there are many who are pressed and need comforting.
Maggie Keogh, a nondenominational chaplain with a Buddhist philosophy based at Mount Sinai hospital in Manhattan, said, “I have never seen doctors or nurses living through anything like this. They are the most profoundly professional group of people, but there is a bone-weariness. It’s not that they are working flat-out, it’s that they are working flat-out knowing that doing so puts them and their own families at risk.”
We are in the midst of this continuing COVID-19 pandemic and we find ourselves pressed on all sides, but certainly not forsaken. Being pressed on all sides is an interesting phenomenon when you think about it. Just like a sponge when it is squeezed, we find out who we truly are. During this pandemic season, I invite you to find out what you are truly made of.
Let’s not look at our coworkers, spouses, children, leaders or followers, neighbors, or anybody else, but let’s look at who we truly are when we are pressed and squeezed on all sides. What is coming out of us today matters. I have seen some good coming out of me and some not so good! However, I am taking the time to ask God to show me more about who I am and what he wants me to be.
What are you doing with the extra time you have while working from home—cleaning almost every drawer, rearranging kitchen cabinets, organizing closets? As you can imagine these are fruitless endeavors. It is almost as if extra time has created extra distractions. What we really need at this time is comfort that this pandemic will soon pass. Well, you can be reassured that it will pass.
I pray that each of us have moments of being still, moments of knowing who God truly is, discovering who we truly are, and who we are in the Lord. I pray continued peace over each of you, continued protection over your families, and continued opportunities to bring comfort into your lives and give you assurance that brighter times await. So, keep the faith, and Never Give Up! Never Give Up! Never Give Up!
By Chaplain Ghosten
chaplain@lhp.net
