Presence, no matter the circumstances, is imperative in the lives of our sheep.
A Presence of Hope
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Leadership
The Lament of a Shepherd
April 23, 2024
Winter is an interesting time of year in the part of the hemisphere where I’m located. Dreary, dark, foggy days can go on seemingly forever, with the sun peeking through the clouds on only a rare occasion. Often, our lives feel similar. When we are mourning the loss of a loved one or lamenting a situation in our lives, all around us can seem dreary. David lamented on several occasions, as is evident throughout the psalms. One such time was after he was anointed king and was being unjustly accused by Saul. Saul’s obsessive paranoia caused him to rally his troops and relentlessly pursue David. Saul had become so compulsive that he put a hit on David’s life. He wanted the young man who had helped soothe his tortured soul through music, his own son-in-law, killed. We can only imagine how torturous this must have been for David.
Uncharted Waters
April 16, 2024
As I was tapping away on my laptop, the ring of my cell phone was startling. Dr. Fong was on the other end of the line. I had been waiting for the results of a specialized MRI completed a few days earlier. We had played phone tag the previous day and because he had not tried harder to reach me after-hours, I was not concerned. But the words “I wasn’t expecting this” and “referring you to a neuro-oncology subspecialist” had me listening more intently and sitting a bit straighter in my chair, scribbling as quickly as I could to write down the information.
Without Hesitation
April 9, 2024
Working through devotional questions related to 1 Kings 17, two verses captured my attention... So he went and did according to the word of the Lord. So he arose and went to Zarephath. —I Kings 17:5, 10 Without question, Elijah trusted God and, without hesitation, obeyed. Rather than continuing to read the miraculous account of the jars of flour and oil remaining full until the drought ended, the Holy Spirt pushed pause in my soul. It was like the cloud had metaphorically stopped in the sky above me and the Father whispered, “Camp here for a while”. I heard a question rise within me, “Why? Why did Elijah do what he was commanded so willingly, so quickly, seemingly so easily?”