Zephaniah 3:17
”For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” (NLT)

The day after I consulted with “the Devil” (aka Google) about my dad’s cancer diagnosis (see Tuesday’s devo for that story), I was at Southland Students for their Wednesday night service as usual. The boys in my small group are juniors now (which is bonkers), and they’re really, really good guys. But they are also junior boys and, therefore, are easily distracted by girls, phones, conversations, etc. I, however, was not distracted this particular Wednesday a few weeks ago—I was experiencing devastation 2.0. Believe it or not, the service was about suffering. The worship revolved around the theme of going through hard times and God healing and providing, and I was just getting beat up by the whole service. Maybe you’ve experienced something similar, a service that seems strangely pointed at you and what you’re going through…

I was feeling sad for my dad—his treatment, the side effects, the fear and worry, his future suddenly feeling either uncertain or shortened, and all the worst things he could be thinking (but wasn’t actually thinking… I was just thinking them on his behalf). I stood silently, or as silently as I could, while crying and mopping up my tears with my sleeves, trying not to make a scene. In the middle of all this, I locked eyes with one of my boys (who knew the situation with my dad), and then I proceeded to quickly whip around and sneak toward the back to avoid being a distraction. But I was too late. This normally goofy teenage boy came up to me—his adult leader—and hugged me, telling me it will all be okay. And then another of the boys came up and hugged me, too. YET AGAIN, I was devastated, but in the best way.

We moved into another time of worship after the message, and everything was different. I wasn’t overwhelmed by negative thoughts and emotions as I had been earlier—I was still upset, but I was proud of my boys, I had more peace, and I was filled with gratitude. It turns out that my boys weren’t thinking about my dad suffering; they saw it as me suffering, and it meant so much that they took the time to care. Not only was I reminded once again just how impressive the next generation is, but I was amazed at how God worked in my heart and theirs in a way I could have never expected. It was a much-needed reminder that our ever-present God really does see us, and He cares more deeply than we can comprehend.

Thursday’s Reflection

How have you seen God working in unexpected ways in your life recently? Give thanks to Him today for the moments that have reminded you He sees you and cares deeply about what you’re going through.

PS - Learn more about Southland Students and how to get involved here!