Thanks to Gary Scoggin for sharing this devotion with our St. John’s family. We hope to share a devotion written by someone in our congregation each Friday.
PSALM 23
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.”
So far, 2020 has been quite the year; perhaps the most memorable year in many of our lifetimes. It started with wildfires in Australia, then in California. We were on the verge of war with Iran. A massive volcano eruption in the Philippines. Oh, and that impeachment thing. That’s just January. Then the Coronavirus came and we all know what happened from there.
“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil;”
Mick Jagger perhaps said it best, “You can’t always get what you want, but you get what you need.” And God is still there through this to comfort us, giving us what we need. Of course, we have to do our part – watching the health of ourselves and those we love, watching our money, and watching out for each other – but God is there to give us the spiritual and mental foundation that we need to sustain ourselves through all of this. Or, as the Psalm says,
“for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;”
The times ahead won’t always be easy. It may be similar to but even more life changing then after 9/11 when we settled in to a “new normal.” But God is there for comfort. As the Psalmist finishes,
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.”
Stay well, my friends.
Gary Scoggin