The Top Shelf: The Ever-Present God — Wednesday
Philippians 4:6-7
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. (NLT)
Maybe you’re like me—I struggle to keep prayer as my default posture and my go-to solution during difficult times. I’ve gotten to the point where prayer is what comes to mind first, but often from a place of guilt and obligation. I’ll think, “Obviously I should pray first, and then I’ll work on a solution myself.” That strategy works great! Again, just kidding. It truly feels like a vicious cycle of Proverbs 16:18, which talks about pride going before a fall. And I fall a lot!
Yesterday, you learned that I circumvented God’s peace and its ability to guard my heart and mind in navigating my dad’s cancer diagnosis. In the words of one of my coworkers (in jest), I instead consulted “the Devil”—aka Google, in this situation. On the other end of the spectrum, my family has been blown away by the amount of support my dad has gotten from friends, family, and this church. When I think about how many people check in and talk about how they’ll be praying, it really feels like there’s a constant plea for healing and provision in his illness.
And we’ve already seen many of those prayers answered. My dad says he’s never felt better, simply because of the outpouring of support, conversations, and prayers. He’s had peace throughout the entire discovery process with scans, doctor visits, bills, and everything else. On top of that, I truly believe that even while I was self-destructing in Google results, God was already at work. What was considered a collapsed vertebra in my dad’s spine, either as a result of metastasis or something else, within a week was re-evaluated, and care went from “surgery for sure” to “just don’t lift more than 10 pounds for a while and it’ll heal.” I did a stent in the medical field before working at Southland, and while I don’t know a ton, a collapse needing surgery doesn’t quickly go to “just let it heal”—which I wholeheartedly attribute to supernatural healing.
Through all this, I’m becoming increasingly grateful for the gift of prayer. I’m grateful for the way God works in all our moments, in our everyday life and in the storms, even when we forget to lean on Him. And in the face of the unknown, I’m grateful for His continual peace that “exceeds anything we can understand.”
Wednesday’s Reflection
Having people surrounding our family has made a huge impact on a very uncertain situation. Are you looking for community? Do you know someone who could use it? Southland Groups are a great way to meet people you can do life with. Check out the Groups page to learn more!
