Just Keep Praying

Our world has seemingly flipped upside down in recent weeks as we adjust to strict new guidelines that govern our daily lives in the wake of COVID-19. The outbreak and how we must tackle its spread has left many of us questioning what we can do, who we can see and how we can see them, and if this will ever come to an end.

Perhaps one of the most difficult things we are facing as Christians is our inability to celebrate together the most holy season of Easter. Our churches have been all but shuttered during a time when we need and are crying out to God most.

Living Word Lutheran Church has one simple message for everyone reading this post: Just Keep Praying.

Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that God “knows the plans he has for [us], plans to prosper [us] and not to harm [us], plans to give [us] hope and a future.”

The truth is, we won’t be able to see each other in a physical sense during Holy Week. But God Himself is not a physical being, and our faith must not be bound to the physical worship services we are used to. We can still be together in a spiritual sense, and to make that easier, you’ll be able to watch and listen to Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday services on Facebook and our new YouTube channel.

We are blessed to live in a time where technology affords us the opportunity to still keep in contact during the days of social distancing. Don’t be discouraged. Don’t give in to anxiety or depressing thoughts. Don’t let the devil try to convince you that God is not listening or that he has left us behind. As the old saying goes, this too shall pass.

Psalm 46:1-3 (NIV) reminds us that “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.”
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If we keep our faith, God will see us through this crisis. When the national emergency declarations have been rescinded and social distancing orders lifted, may we all have a renewed spirit and enthusiasm to rejoin our brothers and sisters in Christ at Living Word and beyond. May we have a new appreciation for what it means to worship together in the house of the Lord.

Happy Easter!

Many thanks to Pastor Mark Dill for recording mid-week and Sunday Lenten services and sending them to our congregation. Authored by Caitlin Squires, member of LWLC. 

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