It is so easy to focus on the circumstances and become overwhelmed with fear, doubt, and despair. The enemy wants us to believe the lie that God is distant and uncaring. It can leave us feeling vulnerable and alone.
In times of crisis trust is a powerful weapon. I define trust as assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, and truth of God. When troubles come, we can ground ourselves in the truth of who God is for us. God longs for us to know Him and truly trust Him as Father. When our accuser wars against our mind, we can draw on a deep reservoir of who God is for us and His promises to us.
Trust begins with who and what you know, more than what you feel. Paul gives this statement of trust, “That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day” (2 Tim 1:12).
Trust thrives with knowing you are loved. Trust believes the best about God and His nature toward you, because love always trusts (1 Cor 13:7). Trust actively lives in expectation of seeing God come through, even when circumstances are hard. God-consciousness anticipates the goodness of God.
Trust looks for evidences that He is working when you can see Him and when you can’t. For the past 20 years there is a phrase that our family has clung to when times get hard. “The moon is round.” It is from a song by Allen Levi.
The lyrics of the song explained that from our perspective the moon is always changing- from a full moon, to half, to quarter, and sometimes just a sliver in the sky. Some nights the clouds cover it completely. But the truth is that the moon is always round. God can seem like the moon. Sometimes His presence is very easy to see. At other times we can’t see what He is doing, and we have to trust that He is there in all His fullness.
God doesn’t change. God doesn’t leave us. Even though it can feel like He is distant, He is near. In moments of crisis it may be hard to see Him or feel His presence. In the midst of the hard times when I try to pray, sometimes all I can say “the moon is round” as a way of saying God, I don’t know what you are doing, but I trust you.
We are all feeling a bit disconnect and isolated right now due to COVID-19. One thing we can all do together is look up at the same sky. If you look up tonight you are not going to see much of the moon due to the phase it is in, but we can all look up into the darkness of the night and trust that the moon is still there and it is round. In the coming days we will be able to see the full moon that we trust is there now.
Both globally and in the personal issues many of us are facing right now where answers seem scarce, God is inviting all of us to lean into Him and trust that “the moon is round.”
@2020 Elizabeth Gunter
Note from Elizabeth Gunter
I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for the outpouring of love and prayers for our family as we announced we need to step back for a season. (For more about that please go to www.thefathersbusiness.com and read there)
Your emails and prayers have been received by all of us as refreshing water for weary and dry places. We are taking things day-by-day and will let you know when we feel we can re-open the store. Until then we will still send out the weekly devotional and respond to emails as time allows.
So many emails, orders, and donations have come in over the past 2 days before the store was closed. We appreciate your patience as we work through all of those things while also taking care of family. It may take a bit longer to respond, but we will respond.
God is showing us His goodness and kindness in so many ways. He is in our midst. The moon is round.
