FROM PASTOR BEN:
The Weekly
I'm so glad you're here and look forward to connecting with you and sharing what God is teaching me each week. 

01

Epic Family, 

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been surprised by the wide range of thoughts and emotions I’ve had during this season. There have been moments when I think to myself, “I can’t believe I’m doing so well in the midst of all of this.” Then, out of seemingly nowhere, I’m not sure how to keep moving forward. If I’m honest, I can feel like there are two versions of me and wonder which is the real me.

 

This is why I’m so thankful for the Psalms in the Bible. They can teach us a lot about what it looks like to have coexisting realities in our lives. We learn how sorrow mixes with joy, how doubt can go along with faith, and how we can express our longings while believing they will be fulfilled.


Psalm 42:1-5 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go to the house of God under the protection of the Mighty One with shouts of joy and praise among the festive throng. Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.


I’ve read this psalm for years, but it takes on an entirely new meaning in our current “Shelter in Place” season. Here are three takeaways I’d like you to consider:

 

May our longing for God be even stronger than all of the other things we desire. St Augustine said, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” Let’s thirst after God even more than we crave that which we’ve lost in this season.

 

Grieve the loss of our public gatherings. The psalmist (most likely this is David) isn’t able to worship in the place he wants to or with the people he longs to be with. He remembers how he used to go to the house of God...with shouts of joy and praise among the festive throng. I deeply miss gathering with all of you to worship together in the same physical space. If you feel the same, pour your heart out to God about this.

 

Speak to your soul. Our souls will feel all kinds of things during this season. You aren’t the only one who is experiencing a downcast soul at times. In fact, I would be concerned if you haven’t had any negative emotions during this season. The psalmist realizes that you can have a downcast soul, while simultaneously urging your soul to put your hope in God.

How can you develop this kind of longing for God?

What do you need to grieve over in this season?

What coexisting realities are you holding in tension these days? How can you express them all to God?

 

I found the following article very helpful for what’s happening with our bodies in this season: A Body Of Work by Curt Thompson.

 

I love you and you are constantly on my heart and my mind.

Much love, 

Pastor Ben

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