Daily Devotional for January 1, 2016

Psalm 46:10
Our God says, “Calm down,
    and learn that I am God!
    All nations on earth
    will honor me.”

Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.

This morning, I stood in the shower and thought about the events that unfolded in our world in the last 24 hours.  And I made a very profound promise to God …”I will not ask…”

• I will not ask…why my husband’s brother endured surgery for prostate cancer in late July that brought a lengthy recovery, only to be involved in a deadly car crash just before Christmas.
• I will not ask…why my brother-in-law had to go through three surgeries for four bowel resections, a concussion, stroke and fractured sternum – and all of the tests, procedures and indignities that came with this, only to die ten days later.
• I will not ask…why my 66-year-old brother-in-law and his family members had to suffer through rounds of cardiac arrest, when death was the ultimate outcome.
• I will not ask…why my 89-year-old mother-in-law had to lose her middle son.
• I will not ask…why my own mother continues to decline with cancer that seems to be rapidly overtaking her body.
• I will not ask…why in the midst of all of this, Greg and I caught a respiratory bug that pretty well knocked us to our knees for about a week each.
• I will not ask…why others are sick, suffering, grieving…why wars are being fought and orphans have no home.
• I will not ask…why people are struggling with addictions, homelessness, money woes, discrimination and injustices of all kinds…and so much more.

I cannot ask these questions…because every time I do, I hear God clearly saying, “What if JESUS had asked why He had to suffer for you?”  I hear Him say, “How do you think what you are enduring could possibly compare in the least to that?!”  And I am stopped dead in my tracks.

I hear God saying, “Don’t you think I am with you, even now?  Do you really know who I am?”  And I am instantly humbled…and comforted…and blessed.  Even in the middle of such chaos, God wants me to calm down…to “be still and know” that He is God – and He can handle all of this without any input from me!

I have no clue what 2016 is going to bring our way.  But I know that we are going to get through every bit of it, because of God.  When I kissed Greg goodnight and wished him a Happy New Year, my heart ached for him. I know the emptiness of losing a brother…we’ve been down the road of watching a parent suffer from a lengthy illness.  I comforted my 80-something grandmother when my dad – her only son – died at the age of 63. 

In the last several days, I’ve had my moments...but for the most part, I have been relatively calm.  And people have asked, “How are you doing that?”  My answer is simple…”I’m not…God is.”  What about you?  Who is holding you close today and keeping you calm?  Isn’t it time you knew?

©2016 Debbie Robus