Slideshow image

What do we do with the distress we are feeling right now? We can be tempted to try hard to hide our distress and suppress it. To pretend it is not there. We can minimize it. 

And yet it persists. When will this end? How bad will things get? What will life look like on the other side of this - what will our "new normal" be like? Questions of distress populate our minds and seem to multiply by the day - and sometimes by the hour. 

God knows our deep distresses. He knows every detail of our lives and He knows the impact that COVID-19 is having on our lives. Now is a time to press in - to press in and lean hard on God. We need His Word to anchor our souls in the midst of the distress that tempts to ravage us right now. 

I love this stanza from one of my favourite hymns, How Firm a Foundation, where we are invited into this promise that God will be with us in the deep waters and "sanctify" to us our deepest distresses.

"When through the deep waters I call thee to go
The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress." 

Tonight, Tim Keller will speak on Psalm 11: Disciplines of Distress. I believe it will be a true encouragement to you and a reminder to all of us that we need to turn to God in a time when we can be tempted to turn to ourselves.

The devotional will stream live at 8:00 PM EDT (that's 5:00 PM for us!) tonight directly on CTC’s YouTube channel - found here at https://www.youtube.com/user/redeemerctc 

I encourage you to tune in tonight.

Blessings,

Pastor Tim