by Victoria Heinecke

What to do when hope seems fleeting.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

“When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.”

When I was a teenager, this popular saying was printed on posters and coffee mugs. It seems simplistic at times, especially as life becomes increasingly complicated. Sometimes life’s circumstances can change with one event.

This tree stood tall among its kind along the shore. Over time, however, erosion ate away at the soil around its roots, eventually toppling it onto the beach. Yet, it still has enough of its roots clinging to the ground, and it continues to live.

How long will this tree survive before the winds and the waves pull its last roots from the ground? Only God knows. In the meantime, the tree will continue to put out leaf, provide shade, and photosynthesize carbon dioxide.

It lives, and it has purpose.

In the past week, the reaction to the COVID-19 crisis has grown from a few people contracting the virus, to a national crisis affecting nearly every American. In addition to the sick, millions of Americans are either confined to their homes, or their livelihoods have been closed by government order. Fear and uncertainty abound. Churches, that sanctuary of peace and comfort, have been shut down as well.

The enemy is rejoicing. People have fallen away from God, and all it took was uncertainty about an illness to send the world in a panic.

“I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
Philippians 4:12-13 English Standard Version (ESV)

Our faith is being sorely tested during these times, and there is only one place where we can find peace amid the storms. When you find yourself feeling anxious, second guessing every cough and sniffle, or when the cabin fever gets maddening, stop and recite Philippians 4:13 – “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

Go to God in word and prayer. He will certainly never fail you, even when you feel as if you are hanging on by a thread.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado