Do You Feel Consumed?

In his book The Call, Os Guinness describes a moment when Winston Churchill, on holiday with friends in the south of France, sat by the fireplace to warm himself on a cold night. Gazing at the fire, the former prime minister saw pine logs “crackling, hissing and spitting as they burned.  Suddenly, his familiar voice growled, ‘I know why logs split, I know what it is to be consumed.’ ”

This has been quite a week. We have had shootings and murders. We’ve seen politicians fighting with one another. We have seen storms and tornadoes hit our country. We have seen crowds run for cover when a motorcycle backfired. Sometimes we feel drained of any joy and peace and wonder when is it going to stop. Psalm 32:3-4 says, “My strength was sapped as in the heat of the summer.”

What do we do when we are zapped? What do we do when we think about the current times and see no way out? Paul knew about brokenness when he wrote in II Corinthians 4:8-9 – “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”

Psalm 23 says the Good Shepherd restores our souls and strengthens us for the next step of our journey here on earth. Hebrews 13:5 assures us that God will walk with us each step of the way.

Psalm 23:4 — “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff — they comfort me.

By the Rev. Tommy Herndon
Image: Adobe iStock