Prayer In This New Month To Journey Each Day With God

 God With Us At All Times

March 1 – Here we are at the beginning of a new month.  I think back to this time last year and things were just beginning to go sideways with the pandemic.  We were in our first 14 days of lockdown to bend the curve and here we are a year later pretty much doing the same.

Just for fun I looked up one of those “this day in history” sites and found these interesting tidbits:

Vivien Leigh winning an Oscar for her role in Gone With the Wind. 

The Amazing composer Chopin was born on this day in 1810. And more recently in 1904 Glen Miller, that great band leader of the big band era.  What amazing music that was and continues to be today.

Having lived a number of years in Taiwan it’s of interest to me that in 1950 Chiang Kai-shek resumed the presidency of Nationalist Chinese government from where he and his loyalists fled to in 1949 and as we know there are ongoing conflicts in the region today over whether Taiwan is an independent nation or still under the rule of Beijing.

And what changes have come since 1995 – not so long ago that the internet was beginning to bring about amazing change in our world and Yahoo was certainly one of the companies best known for these things at that time.

Only this day last year was the first death from covid-19 announced in United States and who can forget going to the grocery store and finding so many empty shelves where paper towel and toilet paper and sanitizer used to be?

Here we are a year later and we all keep hoping for change to be demonstrated in a positive way with regards to this pandemic as more and more vaccinations are given across the globe.  Canada is behind lots of other nations in this regard, unfortunately.  In our own province today they are announcing details for the mass inoculation in communities to begin – with the over 80’s.  Fortunately many of these folks – those who live in assisted living and long term care facilities – have already been vaccinated but there are many more to be done and with frailties mentally and physically for some of these folks there are particular challenges in getting them to the vaccine or the vaccine to them.  But, that should be completed in the next couple of weeks here.  And hopefully with more vaccine coming steadily we will catch up with other countries who have vaccinated a much higher percentage of their population: countries such as the UK and the USA.  I’m guessing my age group will get the call for sometime in May or June but we’ll have

Well, through all the changing times one fact is certain.  God is always with us.  I love this affirmation that we often say:

God is always with me. I need never face my problems alone. Together with God, any difficulty can be worked out and overcome.

Jesus said:  I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

Later on we are reminded that God has said: I will never leave you nor forsake you.  Matthew 28:20, Hebrews 13:5

Life during this season of the pandemic, and truly at any time, is not without its problems.  Fear, worry, and frustration can rise up within us and we need to use these challenging times to build up a history of  successfully facing problems with God. The God who loves us knows exactly where we are in our life journey.  He promises to comfort us in all our troubles and will make a way where there seems to be no way.  God invites us to let go of our fear, ask Him for wisdom and guidance, and trust His personal care for us. 

The Lord himself will go ahead of you. He will be with you. He will never leave you. He’ll never desert you. So don’t be afraid. Don’t lose hope. Deuteronomy 31:8

Lord, You made the universe.  You set the sun to come up every morning and to go down each night.  You know what’s going on and has gone on on Mars even though scientists are just learning a few things from this little land rover that’s taking pictures of the surface of Mars and transmitting sounds like the wind.  You control the power of the ocean, the energy in mountains that erupts in volcanoes such as what we’ve seen in Guatemala in recent days.  You also bend down and protect a pretty flower growing up through a crack in the sidewalk, and care about each bird.  If all of these things are in Your control and care, I’m pretty certain You can take care of us as we face our problems. 

Jesus You yourself said: “I tell you, do not worry. Don’t worry about your life and what you will eat or drink. And don’t worry about your body and what you will wear. … Look at the birds of the air. They don’t plant or gather crops. They don’t put away crops in storerooms. But your Father who is in heaven feeds them. Aren’t you worth much more than they are?  Matthew 6:25-26

Our lives and circumstances matter to You.  The quality and stability of our life today is about believing that You are always with us and working on our behalf.  With this assurance, we trust You to help us do the next right thing and peacefully leave all the rest with You. 

Thank you Heavenly Father that we don’t have to face our problems alone.  Help us to have faith and trust that, together with You, any difficulty can be faced, worked out, and overcome.  Amen