To my friends in business and leadership, whose hearts cry out, “Take my side, God — I’m getting kicked around, stomped on every day. Not a day goes by but somebody beats me up; they make it their duty to beat me up” (King David, Psalm 56:1).

To my friends in business and leadership, whose thoughts, forever running, tears and sweat pouring out, crying out, “There are kids… These are parents… There are families depending on me, on my decisions, on our success, our profit… for income, to thrive, to eat, to receive an education for their futures…”

Crying out, “There are workers, people – real people, who have invested in this business, this organization, trusting for a fruitful outcome one day, to get their kids through college, to one day retire from their labor… And, oh, how we have worked – how they have worked… I have worked and worked and worked, hour after hour, investing time, finances, years – maybe even forfeited years of my life – to see a fruitful outcome one day.”

Crying out, “…But, here and now, the statements pile up, the expense bleeds without profit to account for it, without profit to shore it up, to even it out, let alone advance. Oh, God, what do we do?!”

As King David did, so can we: “When I get really afraid, I come to you in trust. I’m proud to praise God; fearless now, I trust in God. What can mere mortals do? …You’ve kept track of my every toss and turn through sleepless nights, each tear entered in your ledger, each ache written in your book” (King David, Psalm 56:1-8).

When we get really afraid, we trust in God.

Go to the Lord. Lay your burdens at His feet. You cannot bear this burden on your own. It is true: You do not have the answers to make the best decisions on your own, or the means to provide for your team or your family on your own. But, God has the answers in full supply! He is working behind the scenes on your behalf, on your team’s behalf, for you.

You have been crying out, “Oh, God, what do we do?!” Lean on Him. Lean into Him. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

You feel fear because you cannot trust yourself to make the right decisions. Release this fear. Set it free. Don’t talk yourself into why you can be trusted. Instead, acknowledge it is true: You cannot trust yourself. But, you can trust the Lord!

When we submit to the Lord, He makes our paths straight. Our submission has a holy, positive impact on those around us, as well. They see God through us, instead of seeing us.

In this time, especially, I urge you to remember: You are not your employee’s provider. You are not your family’s sole provider. God is their provider. He will work to perform His Word. And, when He does, it will become clear that it was Him. It will be clear that He performed the work, that He provided the provision, the miracle. It will be clear that He caused the impossible to become possible; and, He will receive all of the glory. (He does not need to share His glory with us! It’s so embarrassing to think of the times I wanted some glory. Yuck!)

Take this time to surrender to the Lord. Lay this all at His feet. Rest in Him as He accomplishes the God-sized work that only God can work! And be ready to give Him the glory and the praise for His wondrous works!

We praise you, Lord! Your ear is not deaf to our cries, nor is your arm too short to save. We put our total trust in you, Creator, Provider, Sovereign God.

I am praying for you, leaders – for rest in your minds and in your bodies, peace on your nervous systems, and for calming on your adrenaline. Rest. Here is a wonderful Psalm to meditate on, to cast our burdens on the Lord, as we refocus our gaze onto Him:

Psalm 40: 1-5

“I waited patiently for the Lord;
    he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
    out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
    and gave me a firm place to stand.
He put a new song in my mouth,
    a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the Lord
    and put their trust in him.
Blessed is the one
    who trusts in the Lord,
who does not look to the proud,
    to those who turn aside to false gods.
 Many, Lord my God,
    are the wonders you have done,
    the things you planned for us.
None can compare with you;
    were I to speak and tell of your deeds,
    they would be too many to declare.”

It doesn’t matter your job title, the brand of car you drive, your pedigree, education, tax bracket or the level of your beauty. This is an equal inopportunity virus and situation. No one person is better than the other or immune to hardship. The regular rules of American society matter not in this pandemic, this national crisis. Everyone hurts in some way. In one way or another, it’s injury in the first-degree for everyone.

Please, I beg us, as a society to please put off pretense or pride. Let’s shed the strange social games that dictate to whom we say, “hello,” in the grocery store, who we choose to share our smile with or who we thank for a kind gesture. We have a commonality called “the human condition.” Unfortunately, we have found it hard to just be human for some time. I sincerely hope we have learned through this. Let us never again position our noses at a certain angle based on the size of our house.

Hopefully, we are all learning that it is by the grace of God that we have anything. Like with Jonah, God can even take away our shade if He likes. The sooner we learn that we are all beggars, the better our country will be for all. 

Lord, Give us eyes to see, ears to hear and hearts to feel the love you have for us and for others. Help us lavish others with love and kindness, as you do, never again shrewdly withholding it out of pride… in Jesus’ Name.

Have you ever been in the back seat of a car on a winding road? If you’re like me, you came out green, rattled, undone, and gasping for breath. My husband loves, what I call, “athletic” cars. They aren’t the most expensive sports cars on the market, but they certainly aren’t the weakest. His car flaunts its horsepower and blows from 30 to 50 on the curves, rather than powering down.

As a result, I have taken to driving, or serving as front seat passenger, in my respectable, family vehicle on these trips. Closer to the helm, the center of the car, I move with the sturdiness of the car rather than jostling to my detriment. As a result, I feel fine — not rattled, green and gasping for breath.

In this time of turbulence, respected pastors have described it as a time of “shaking.” From Haggai 2:6-8, “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord Almighty.”

God is shaking the earth. And many of us, who have been found on our own agendas, going at our own speeds, trying to blow past and breaking the rules, find ourselves feeling rattled, undone and gasping for breath. And, let’s face it: One way or another, we have all been found on our agendas, fixed on idols, speeding ahead on our own.

When our respect for and our focus has wavered away from the Lord God Almighty, creator of the universe, we find ourselves in risky situations that come with consequences. It simply has not worked for us. Yet, how blessed we are that we are still here. We can change our ways. We can stop our reckless behavior now. We must. And, by refocusing our gaze to be on Him, instead of on our own advancement, we can find solid ground.

Psalm 16:4 -8 says, “Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more. I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods or take up their names on my lips. Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.”

As we see, the jig is up. Living recklessly, speeding ahead, and blowing past all of the rules doesn’t work anymore. There are consequences for our behaviors: The earth is being shook.

But, by setting the Lord ahead of us and beside us, forsaking idols – including ourselves – we will not jostle with the shaking. When we remain beside the Lord, we will move along the sturdy hand of God; and, we will not be shaken.

Lord God, Please forgive us. We, as individuals and as a country, have been on our own agendas, going at our own speeds and blowing past your rules. I repent for the recklessness I have created through my actions. I repent for the idols, the things I have put before you, including myself. I thank you for your love… that we are still here, and that you are still here. Your Word tells us to draw near to you and you will draw near to us. So, I draw near to you. I trust you, Lord. I know that, when we are beside you, neither my family nor I will be shaken. Rather, the boundary lines fall in pleasant places for us.

Lord, I hand over my control. I hand over any survival mentality I have that makes me clutch to opportunities. Instead, I look to you, knowing you will provide everything we need. You are more than enough for me. I love you, Lord! Amen.

There were a handful of years I would get up at 3:30 in the morning, start my work, get ready, head to the office and run seven-to-10 very focused, back-to-back meetings every, single day. To take a deep breath, I would have to step into the bathroom. Even then, someone might knock on the door with a question or for a signature.

I smiled and did my work, happy to have work, but my nervous system and adrenal glands were completely taxed. I wondered how many years I was shaving off of my life, not out of dramatic thinking but from actually alarming symptoms.

Some of you have been running the same type of back-to-back, intense, highly-pressured schedules for years too. Though smiling, you cannot fool your body. It knows you are taking advantage of it, and it needs rest to heal.

There came a time when my body, my nervous system, and my soul, demanded that rest from me, and it was imperative I took it. I didn’t want to become dependent on medications, simply to feed my schedule. So I didn’t. I had to take a step back for myself and my family, and to hear the voice of God speaking.

I know everyone wants to get back to work and get back to the grind. That is motivated by a desire to connect but also to provide and to have a platform to exercise your giftings.

For some of you, you are freaking out until you do – either because you are beginning to feel desperate or because your identity is so deeply connected to what you do, and you feel your time – something you greatly value – is being rendered useless. You may be feeling worthless, pulled from the game.

For those of you, especially, I would like to assert that this time is not a waste, nor is it futile for you. This is time that your body needs to regenerate and to heal. Healing is a highly valuable use of your time and something you need, if you don’t want to be pulled from the game of life prematurely.

I had to learn, though I often enjoyed what I was doing – perhaps just telling myself that, at times, to push through – you cannot fool your body. Adrenal glands are real. Hormones and chemicals are real. Cortisol is real. And, they can get out of whack, disorienting your entire system, when you run for years without a break. This takes a literal toll on your body and your actual life.

The point of this message is to communicate with the achievers, the business owners, those of you with double-A personalities, who are anxious because you feel trapped or that time is being wasted: This time does not have to be wasted. This time can be a gift used for one of the most valuable investments you could ever make: an investment in your physical healing, through rest, to rejuvenate and restore your body, which impacts your quality of life and your life span.

This time is not a waste. Turn your brain off for awhile. Though it feels oxymoronic, turning your brain off and letting your body turn down, is actually one of the most valuable uses of your time. When that brain of yours does just want to think, consider what tools or exercises you can carry into your daily life and routine after this – once the work starts up at it’s usual pace – to respect your body and to maintain your healing.

I’ve said it before: “Success” nearly took me out. The good news is, when God helped press pause for me, making Himself abundantly known, the healing and rejuvenation I needed took place. Yet, you have to start by acknowledging the physical exhaustion you are experiencing and ask God to show you a new way to take care of your temple.

For some of you, you could not press pause on your own. It took an act of God for you to step back to rest and to heal. The good thing is, you have that opportunity now. And, your body will thank you for it. I think of two particular Bible verses, at this time, that serve as a reminder and an encouragement:

1. How we treat our bodies matters to God:
   “Do you know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own…” (1 Corinthians 6:19).
   
2. If you find yourself weak, as I did, this is a wonderful verse to say out loud and to meditate on:
   “Praise the Lord, o my soul, all my inmost being, praise His holy name. Who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagles” (Psalm 103:5).

I truly felt 35 years older than I was; but, through rest, and becoming more aware of my limitations and aware of my value past producing, I de-aged. And, you can too! Now is your opportunity to do so.

Though your natural fall back in “down” times might be worry, please consider this when you go there: Thinking you can solve all of the issues at hand is your ego. I encourage you to find peace in knowing that you can’t solve every problem at hand, but God does not slumber or sleep. He is still God. He is still on His throne. He knows what you need, and He is working on your behalf right now.

Just rest.

During this forced pause, wounds are being noticed. Without our usual distractions, pain is bubbling to the surface. With nowhere to run, we have to face our wounds. And, I believe God wants us to.

I believe God wants to reveal our deep-seated, internal wounds so He can heal us. He is beckoning us to go on a journey with Him, a journey of healing, one we can no longer avoid.

I am on a journey. Prompted by unexpected emotion, I have been thinking about time lately… how time and space do not confine God like they confine us. Here on earth, there are limits on what can be – on who and what fits into our sequential timeline, into periods and generations, based on time’s limitations.

Yet, in heaven, time does not control anything. God controls everything. All we have lost… the saints we have lost, continue living on, regardless of their duration or particular years on earth. Everything is as He created it, destined it, to be.

Deep within, I have felt a bubbling lately – a sense of maternal clinginess, even anger and loss… deep loss, deeper than the situation at hand. I feel a righteous anger, swelling up within me, to pray and to fight for children whose health has been messed with. I feel deep compassion for parents, who struggle, seeking wisdom and praying continually for answers. The intensity of this feeling is something I cannot shake. I sense God prompting me to pray and to intercede for others; yet, I sense He is also pointing to a deep wound within me.

The other day, experiencing such deep emotion, I asked God to show me what wound I conceal. He did. It is a very deep wound I conceal, and keep close to my heart, going back to Fall of 2011. The Lord showed me that, deep below the surface, I grieve a baby who would have just turned eight.

When this loss happened, I didn’t know how to grieve. I denied it was happening. I was desperately doing all I could think of to save this pregnancy, to fight for our child, after receiving a bad report: I called on every doctor who might help, every prayer warrior or evangelist who would pray, sought alternate opinions, took medication, did the tests, mustered every ounce of faith I could, asked others to intercede… I gave it all.

I remember seeing concern in others’ eyes. They wondered if I was okay. They wondered if I was grasping the finality of the situation… Perhaps I wasn’t; or, perhaps I was desperate. I kept fighting. I did every possible thing I could until all weapons failed, and… we just lost. When it was unmistakably over, I remember my mom saying, “Sarah, you don’t have a decision to make here. God has removed it from you. Rest in Him.”

During this time of personal mourning, other joyous family events were taking place. I did not want to upstage joy with grief. I wanted to support and celebrate our family. I was also learning that it is difficult for friends, family members, even the mom herself, to know how to respond to this loss… No one knows what to say. So, I tried to conceal the pain… Yet, I thank the Lord for the support of my mom, the love of my husband, and the laughter, brought on by our hilarious, little boy.

Time began to move. I sought medical and spiritual answers to understand why this had happened. I felt I had failed. I wanted to know why we had lost. We were not getting practical answers. But, more than this, I wanted spiritual answers: How could this happen? How did we lose? We were in faith. How could the enemy win? I remember sitting with a pastor friend of mine. He said to me, “God always wins.” He explained that, what the Lord created and intended, He is accomplishing in heaven, where sin does not taint or destruct.

Soon, grief gave way to a holy desperation within me. I knew the Holy Spirit was yet birthing something in me… continued vision for our family. He was showing me the puzzle was not yet complete. I needed to fight again! I needed to fight with the weapon of courage to put our hearts out there again. Though frightened beyond belief, the Lord poured out His grace, wisdom from our doctor, and holy desperation to move forward.

In February of 2012, we were flooded by God’s goodness. We conceived who would become my best, little, girl friend – our sweet, precious, rainbow baby, Madison Laine. God knew I needed her – exactly her. Our loving doctor was so giving of ultrasounds and opportunities to hear her heartbeat over and over, to give us peace and joy. And, on November 6th, 2012, during the presidential elections, that joy was fulfilled with the birth of our precious Madison Laine.

The love we have for our children is, again, best described as desperate. I have hugged and protected Maddie and Zane, also a miracle baby (!), desperately, beyond grateful for the two treasures God has used to build out a truly fulfilling, meaningful life for us. Understanding the earth’s confinement of time – that I could not have her preciousness and the baby who was lost – I have always felt a sense of deep gratitude for God’s infinite wisdom that He gave me her… our sweet, darling Madison Laine.

We have had a number of rough years along the way since; and, I have always said to God, “Oh, how you knew I needed the light and the joy, the kindness and the compassion, of this girl to get me through this!” And, I just so enjoy these two characters, called Zane and Maddie. (Thank you, Lord!)

It’s when we speak of heaven, at church, that I feel my wound being exposed. In these moments, I allow myself to get distracted to ignore the pain. Yet, in this time-out of life, more than eight years later, I know God is bringing me face-to-face with my wound. In this sensitive and vulnerable place, He is teaching me that He is there. He tends to it, He corrects it, He wins.

God is showing me that two, deeply complex emotions, two deeply complex situations, can happen simultaneously – one blessing on earth and another in heaven. It’s what my friend and pastor, Wes, calls “the tension.” Time does not confine heaven as it confines us.

In this time, as God gives me a deeper glimpse into my heart, where the wound resides, He reminds me it is okay. It is okay to open my heart to Him and to ask a few questions. After all, He seeks truth, desires to give us revelation and to impart healing.

In these times where the sacred things are being exposed, where the Lord is shaking the earth… the Lord wants us to seek Him. He wants to be found by us. He wants you to open your heart. Give yourself permission to seek Him in the deepest places.

Today, I ask, Lord, who is this baby? Will she look like my children? Was it a girl? Is she a girl? Is there a way to know? What was her name? What is her name? Perhaps I won’t know any of these answers here on earth; but, by going to the Lord, I can receive comfort, deep within, through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit, who brings healing about in our hearts and souls. And, deep in my heart, I know I have treasure waiting for me in heaven, that nothing can corrode, nor anyone steal.

I encourage you to be brave with your heart, with your hurt… with your pain and your wounds, especially at this time. I know it hurts… I cannot imagine the wounds you have. Maybe your rainbow has yet to come. But, God knows. He sees your heart. He sees the wound.

You are precious to God. The Bible says He even bottles your tears. That is how precious your heart is to Him. “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book… God is on my side” (Psalm 56:8-9).

If you have experienced loss, I encourage you to seek healing. And, you are not alone. Reach out to our team of pastors. They… we… want to pray with you: Prayer@GraceSTL.org.

A relationship with Jesus is not simply about emotion or feeling good. A relationship with Jesus involves you. And, just like any other committed relationship, you must make a choice, every day. To protect your intimacy, you must have the tough conversations, put your cards on the table, expose your insecurities and your truth.

If you are tired and your emotions aren’t cutting it, maybe doubt is creeping in, go ahead, move from emotion to logic. Look at His actions, and ask yourself these questions:

• Has He always been true?
• When I was a mess, did it ever scare Him away?
• Has He ever left me when I needed Him?
• When I have been in pain, has He comforted me?
• Does He put me before Himself?
• Can I trust Him… with my things, with my dreams, with my future …with my heart, with my kids?

See, we must bring our doubts and insecurities, and in honesty, leave them at the table like any relationship we commit to. Yet, unlike any other relationship, we will never come up empty-handed.

• He always brings.
• He always shows up.
• He always provides.
• He’s always there.

So, if your emotions are taxed, and you need logic, know that Jesus is still Jesus, and He is always Jesus, no matter how you look at Him, regardless of how you shift or how you feel.

Looking at His “track record” in your life, you will find Him more than good, more than loving, always loyal, forever committed, ever safe and caring. He’s also very, very patient.

What’s going on in the economy has just impacted my husband, so our family, too. We’ve been in very stressful situations before… perhaps more times than I can even count. One such experience taxed me beyond my ability to feel. In that situation, I learned this: When the odds feel stacked against me, and my emotions betray me, I have a choice to make.

Go ahead, ask yourself this question, too: Will I choose to put my faith into practice, into action, even when I’m not feeling it? Will I truly take God at His Word? When my emotions have failed me, unable to be trusted, will I make the daily choice to believe everything I said I believe when I felt good?

You must make that choice. For me, yes, always; because, I know God is always with me, His Holy Spirit helps me in my weakness, and I simply can do nothing alone. (I’ve learned that the hard way!)

When the odds seem stacked against you, you need God more. You need reinforcements. That’s what the Christian walk is all about: We are sinful, so we try going it alone. We trust our emotions and we trust our abilities, when we should not. We let ourselves, and the world lets us down, and we say, Now what…? Help! And Jesus comes to the rescue… Every time, no matter how many times that is.

So, if your feelings are taxed, and you don’t even want to hear yourself talk, simply utter that four-letter-word that will actually get you somewhere, Help! And He will come bail you out, scoop you up, comfort you, and bandage you time and time again. He has already done it so many times, proven Himself so many times.

Keep choosing Him, every day, and you will get through this. He makes His Word good, and that is what makes Him supernatural in a very natural world. We love you, Jesus!

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful” (Hebrew 10:23).

Under pressure, everything within us on high alert, we come face-to-face with our issues. As the pot begins to boil, our insecurities manifest themselves in various areas of our lives. And, very often, our reaction is to hide.

We do all we can to keep the pot from boiling over: We dissipate the smoke, cover the smell, clean it up, pretend it’s not there. We piece together fragments and patch together stories to guard our pride, to maintain a sense of control. As we do, we forfeit a piece of our souls.

Yet, the Bible teaches us there is another way – a way out of the pain, a way out of the hiding. It says, “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed” (James 5:16). Healing comes from confession, from facing our issues head-on, exposing our pain, relinquishing our pride and trading it for wholeness.

Why do we settle for fragments when we could be whole?

What are you hiding? Is it the weakness you feel, the wrong you have done…? Is it the pain that has been inflicted upon you? What threat or lie has been cast so deeply into your soul, that it has taken root and feeds on darkness? What pain occurred, what wound left untreated?

Who is it? Who has you captive, sweet friend? Who is your perpetrator? Is it shame or guilt? Is it addiction or condemnation? Is pride choking you, trapping truth inside a rock-hard shell? Who is it that threatens to take you out, to remove you from the game?

You hide, sweet soul… Where have you gone? Are you trapped in your most painful moment, stuck within addiction, riddled by the guilt that leaves you hanging by a thread, threatening to take you out? Where are you?

The Bible tells us, “nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light” (Mark 4:22). The truth always comes to light. Is it time? Is it time to expose the dead within you that it might come to life?

The Lord wants to save you. He wants to remove the barrier that separates you, break you free from prison and the chains that bind you. He beckons you to come out from hiding so He might restore you. He calls to you, His beloved:

“I will be found by you,” says the Lord. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land” (Jeremiah 29:14).

Release the prisoner. Unhinge the latch that keeps you hiding, that keeps you in shame, that locks you in fear, anxiety and isolation. Come out of hiding. Take a step. Step out of the darkness and into His glorious light.

Step into the light, where maggots die, and light gives way to breath, and breath gives way to life. The Lord is drawing you, calling you, out of darkness… come home. Jesus came to set captives free, to restore them from torment and return them to the arms of their Father.

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free” (Isaiah 61:1).

Step out of your death, and step into your life. Freedom has come.

Uncertainty. It’s the word slipping into our nervous systems, rattling around in our brains and falling from our lips these days. Just as you recognize an entire area of your life you must totally reprocess and replan, you learn another of life’s large buckets has been assigned a press conference by evening. The news doesn’t stop, neither do the texts, the death tolls are rising, and every person, family and community is regrouping at every turn.

For those who really need time to process, you don’t have it. For those who choose flight instead of fight, there’s no place you can run. For those who want to fight, you haven’t yet met your opponent – the issues are still too nebulous to grasp. Uncertainty. Unknowns. Total lack of control. Anxiety. Fear. Panic. Wonder.

Though many of our basic needs are vulnerable, yet floating, most of us are asking, Why?

The logical are attempting to use logic, looking for all of the controlled factors that could equate to this situation; so we can, perhaps, back our way out of this methodically.

The innovators are out front, searching for solutions, as quickly as they come to them, to help navigate possible ways out.

The businesspeople are attempting to climb past emotion to mitigate loss and find a baseline of economic ground to stand on.

The marketers observe, watching consumers, looking for behaviors, reading statistics, awaiting new case studies and attempting to regroup.

The pioneers look for new ways of doing things, with little additional loss at risk because everything is risk, and this is the time to pilot.

Those in the frontlines serve, showing us sacrificial beauty, to their own detriment, yet building their legacy along the way.

The parents ache. They wonder. They protect. They feed. They teach. They stress. They pray. They Zoom. [Let’s face it: We all Zoom.]

And, the kids… oh, how I wonder what is going on in their hearts and minds. Ultimately, I believe they miss their friends, their opportunities, their communities – their grandparents, cousins, classrooms, gymnastics teams and playmates. [I pray the Lord tends to these little hearts and softens the nerves of the caretakers.]

And, the spiritual are asking what God is doing here… Though I am included in a number of the above, this is my stop. So, what is God doing here?

I have often had people come to me for advice, solutions or answers. As a result, too often, I actually thought I had them. Yet, life has humbled me, and I know I have nothing without God. Still, this brain ever moves, my utterances continually go up to God, and I attempt to override fear with faith.

But Tuesday got to me.

I have so much – beyond words – to be grateful for. And I want to pause with extreme gratitude… Yet, for some reason Tuesday, I surpassed logic and fight, and I felt. Perhaps oddly, the straw that broke the camel’s back was realizing that my kids can’t play on playgrounds for countless weeks – even months – of their lives.

Of everything going on in our economy, I don’t know why this broke me. It might be because our son has A.D.H.D., and his “medication” is activity. Perhaps it dawned on me that our basic, daily rights have been worn down by an invisible predator. Maybe I just took a breath and realized the state of the world; and, clearly, like everyone else, I didn’t like it. Or, maybe I, myself, with A.D.H.D.-tendencies felt claustrophobic. All I know is, I felt mad. Panic set in, and I had the first panic attack I’ve had in a long time.

That night, when I tucked our kids into bed, we opened my son’s cartoon Bible. Our “hero profile,” as this Bible introduces its characters, was on Job. I won’t get into all of the history of Job, but I will just summarize it this way:

Job was a good guy. He was a rich guy, but his wealth didn’t impede his love and devotion to God.

The devil, the menacing piece of junk he is, told God that Job would not love Him or serve Him, if he didn’t have all the things and all the goodness. God said, he will.

The enemy tested Job in disgusting ways, not only tearing away wealth but taking his sons and then his health. Job stayed true in his devotion to God. But, when his friends said they wouldn’t blame him if he just died, he began losing hope and cursed the day he was born.

In Job’s wallowing and self-pity, God steps in to wake him up and give him perspective. God says, “Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me. Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand” (Job 38:2-4).

What is happening here is, Job – mortal man – has questioned the God of the universe; and now God, creator of the universe, has some questions for Job: Does Job know the meaning of life and how the universe operates? [Read Job 38. Whoa.] It becomes clear, quickly, that Job does not; because Job is not God, he is mortal man. Only God knows the answers because God is God and Job is not. [Spoiler alert: Job humbles himself before the mighty hand of God, and God lifts Job up, giving him more than he had before.]

This was the perfect Bible passage for me Tuesday night. The words, “brace yourself” reminded me to snap out of it – out of the self-pity, out of the fear and the anger. After all, who am I?

God is God, and I am not. He reigns over the earth and has dominion above all things. Who am I to question or to make suggestions? I am so glad He is on the throne – that He is God, and I am not. Consider myself humbled.

Though we naturally grapple for control, all we need to do at this time is put our trust in God, as He does the work that God does, which far surpasses our understanding. All the other things are far “above my pay grade,” and I can breathe a deep sigh of relief. I can just focus on loving and serving, knowing He has – as I sang as a child – the whole world in His hands.

Time to find things to do to serve.

Why do we think we’re being punished? The things that are being revoked are man-made. If man can make it, man can revoke it; and, I don’t want to be a slave to man. But, that which God made, man cannot revoke. That which God made is tended to, fruitful and full of life.

“He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for people to cultivate— bringing forth food from the earth: wine that gladdens human hearts, oil to make their faces shine, and bread that sustains their hearts. The trees of the Lord are well watered, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. There the birds make their nests; the stork has its home in the junipers” (Psalm 104:14-18).

Exit your cocoons. Step outside. Look around. Smell the air. See the skies. The green approaches. If it’s raining, it’s God watering the mountains from His upper chambers. If the sun is shining, the Lord is looking down with favor.

Oh, don’t be confused, oh my soul. What man made, man can revoke. But what God made, not man nor the devil can shake!

All things are inferior and subject to the hand of God.

“Whoever shuts their ears to the cry of the poor will also cry out and not be answered” (Proverbs 21:13).

Less separates us than we think. And, at some point, we all need each other. This is that point.

I remember interviewing my grandpa for a paper in high school: His dad died when he was 10. There were four boys, and it was the Great Depression. They lived in the back of a post office and only had coffee grounds to eat sometimes. He would stand in the “relief line” for bread and eggs, while the boys from school taunted him.

I remember feeling heartbroken for him. Yet, it was sympathy, not empathy; because it felt like a distant land — nothing that would ever happen in my lifetime. But, here we are, folks: Bread, eggs, a roll of toilet paper… it will help “regular” people. Nothing separates us from each other right now.

If you have extra of anything, as basic or as limited as it is, don’t feel insecure about that gift. Don’t underestimate it. That is a lot right now. Look to your left and your right. Find that person who needs it. And, if you need something — bread, eggs, a roll of toilet paper… as small as the gift might be, don’t feel insecure about receiving it right now.

After all, we are all really the same. This becomes blaringly obvious to me in these times. We need each other. Let’s learn to be sensitive to each other. We are being given the opportunity to see one another in a different light. We are being given the opportunity to learn how to love in a new way, to shore up our differences. And, love is worth the lesson.