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 A collective reflection on God’s grace and our chances for renewal Wednesday, March 5, 2025 |
Take me to the river Isaiah 43:2, 58:11 On a busy run through Costco stocking up on supplies for work, I answered a phone call. Struck numb, I sat down on the flat bed cart. The world shifted on its axis. Nothing made sense. This can’t be, I thought. The news I was hearing didn’t fit. I literally couldn’t make sense of the moment. Everything about it seemed off. Unexpected. Devastating. I hung up, looked up, and realized the world around me was moving on despite me. Nobody knew what to do with the sobbing woman sitting among boxes of snacks and drinks on a flat bed cart. Some glanced back. Some side-eyed their inconvenience at my location in the aisle. I began praying silently, asking God for this not to happen, pleading with him to untangle the knots in my gut and help me stand up and move on. I need to stand up. But I can’t move. I asked him what on earth I was to do at that moment. His answer…phone a friend. And so I did. I moved myself toward the front of the store as dear friends answered the call and said, “We’ll be right there.” They came and finished the work on the flat bed cart, allowing me to go be with the people who needed me urgently. They prayed for me. They reached out. Together for weeks we prayed desperate prayers for this bewildering turn of events. They were like the river’s current, sent by God to help me rise and move toward the unknown. I love water—being near it, being on and in it. God’s provision and protection came to me and those I loved as a gentle, flowing force. Surrounded by the waters of his grace and provision, we were buoyed by the care and concern of friends, lifted by the prayers and provision of people who come alongside us in this brutal world. God’s grace is an ever-flowing stream, and I literally felt the movement of that stream and heard his voice in the sounds of moving water through the people he surrounded us with in this season. I have lived it, seen loved ones restored by it, and locked arms with friends in the midst of rising, roaring waters. Whatever you are experiencing today, may you feel God’s presence with you. May you know without a doubt that he is with you, that you will not be overcome, that he will protect you, and that he will provide what is needed on this journey. By Lisa Zulke PRAYER FOR TODAY Thank you, God, for this water imagery to explain your grace, protection, and provision. Thank you for being with us amid all the complex spaces of our lives. Please help us sense your presence and expand our trust in your steady offering of grace and protection. Be with us this day, and help us untangle the knots in our stomachs, rise to our feet, and move forward with you at our side. The reflections in this collection are offered as a guide to deepen our understanding of God’s grace, to consider the places Jesus walked in his day, and to renew our commitment to our spiritual journey. We begin at the river (March 5 – 8), a theme that echoes throughout the Bible and speaks directly to our path of reflection and renewal. Rivers, in their varied forms, represent life, cleansing, and transformative passage. They can be seen as sources of divine provision or instruments of judgment and chaos. During this season of Lent, we are invited to contemplate the flowing currents of our lives, to examine where we find life-giving sustenance, where we need purification, and what transitions God calls us to make. May these readings guide us toward a deeper understanding of and connection with Jesus. Sincerely, The Journey Team |
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