You haven’t heard? Several of you have sent me pictures of stores with
empty shelves. I mean empty shelves! My first thought (even knowing the answer to some degree) is, Why are the shelves empty?! It doesn’t take me long to come up with a number of answers. There is one answer however, that keeps popping in my head. The shelves are empty because (drum roll…), inside of each of us is the overwhelming thought, I don’t want to be left out. We are experiencing something no one before us can relate to (COVID19 virus) and we need to make sure that we
get to the store and get what we need before the shelves are empty.
Empty shelves speak much deeper than the pictures I have seen. Many of us are experiencing the empty shelves of life. A broken heart, losing a loved one, finances, sickness…I could go on but you get where I’m headed. When we feel the empty shelves of life, we rush and grab what we think we need because we don’t want to be left out. I want what you have (love, family, money, health) and all too often our shelves become full of overstocked items. Once things return to a sense of “normal” we look at the shelf and think, why did I “buy” all of that? Decisions made during stressful times can really expose our relationship (or lack of one) with Jesus.
Paul writes in Philippians 4
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Will you continue to feel left out, causing you to rush to the store (the world) to restock your shelves? Will you allow God’s peace to guard your hearts and minds?
I encourage you to be mindful how you are stocking your shelves.
Until we see each other again
Pastor Chad