What Now?

It was 106 degrees out as approximately 2,000 Phoenicians gathered and walked the seven-tenths of a mile to our state capitol. Those who came were peacefully gathered, united to lament together. Many were carrying signs and one that especially stood out read “Forgive my Silence“.

After reaching the capitol there was a time of worship, prayer, and kneeling together on the mall grass to ask God to forgive us for the abhorrent treatment of black people, to forgive our silence, to lament for any sin in our own hearts, to grieve together for the lives of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and all the others….while asking God to heal our land.

Friends here’s the reality….my prayer is that the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery (and all the others) has shook you to your core and that you are compelled to be the change in your circle of influence.

I also imagine that many of you are struggling with the reality of the racial injustices we’ve seen recently. How do we even process it? How do we talk with our children about it? And what can we actually do to personally be the change in our circle?

A personal story about something not in any way related to this current racial injustice…but relatable because of the outcome….

Some time ago I was wrestling in my heart about how to handle a very personal situation. Due to the enormity of this life-changing situation it would be impossible to ignore as it effected me “up close and personal”. I was praying earnestly and yes, I was struggling on many levels and for many reasons.

Dw tried to talk to me about it and his words although they were gentle, truthfully, were not a comfort. My well-meaning husband loves me and although he spoke truth about this particular situation, I couldn’t really “hear” what he was saying. And I told him that. I told him I had to “wrestle” with the Lord to hear His voice.

Why is that? Because the bottom line is that our gracious God created each of us with a need to communicate with Him intimately. He longs for daily relationship with us. He wired us to need His comfort, His strength, His wisdom, His peace and His whispers to make it through this life.

Our kind and loving God actually knows us better than we know ourselves. A powerful truth is found in Psalm 56:8: “You keep track of all of my sorrows, You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.”

The Bible also tells us in Matthew 10:30 that He even knows how many hairs are on our head because He has numbered them all! Yes, He definitely knows us!

Anyway, after several days of turmoil while praying and struggling with this personal situation the Lord directed me to a scripture and I knew it was Him for this situation. My heart leapt! “Trust in the Lord and do good.” (Psalm 37:3) My word this year is “trust” so it was most appropriate that this sweet whisper from the Lord would begin with “Trust”. But the second part was equally as powerful: “Do good.” A simple two words: Do good.

And although the situation was far from “simple”, His whisper was simple: “Trust Him and Do Good.” There was nothing else I could, should or would do. I had peace for the first time about it all.

For this personal situation that spoke enormously. His whisper was clear: “Put your trust in me, Linny, and do good”. I cried and verbally gave the situation and all it’s ramifications to Him. I have chosen to “Trust Him and Do good.” Period. And at the same time I am choosing not to go back and replay the situation over and over and try to figure it out. And although it has on several occasions been a struggle not to, I won’t. I am going to “Trust in the Lord and Do Good.”

So here’s my thoughts as to how this pertains to the current events going on around us. Get alone with the Lord and ask Him to whisper to you as to “What now?” His word is always truth, it is always peaceable and it is always trustworthy. He is working, even when things look out of control. Take the verse He gives you and post it around your home. Meditate on it. Even if it’s the verse I shared from Psalm 37:4a.

And pray with me for our nation – that God would bring revival to our land.

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