TCC, Day 28: David

For the first time in my life (that I know of) I wasn't in a church building on Easter Sunday. We had breakfast together as a family and then we watched the 8:00 service at around 10:30. I think the boys could get used to that schedule!  It was mostly reverent and joyful, as an Easter service should be.

Here's our family Easter picture with Trey and I in our Easter shorts and with the boys wearing shirts. (I made them put shirts on for the picture - last night I set the guideline that no one attends Easter church in their underwear, so that bridge had already been crossed):

Did you know this is the 103rd day of the year? I know this because I've been following a Bible reading plan to read through the whole Bible in one year, and today is day 103. That means that over one quarter of the year we've been social distancing. Weird.

Rarely am I right on with the Bible reading plan. Sometimes I'm a day or two behind, and sometimes I accidentally read ahead. I primarily listen to it, but I've done more reading now that I'm home so much. This afternoon I caught up on about three days' worth, currently reading in first Samuel.

I love the story of David and Goliath. It has to be a favorite childhood Bible story for lots of folks. As I read it today, I was struck by David's retort to Goliath when Goliath laughed at the possibility of fighting such a wimp. In I Samuel 17:45, David said, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied."

Basically, he said, "Uh, I've got God. I'm not scared."

I also read the section a little earlier when Samuel anointed David as the future king. Jesse paraded all of his sons in front of Samuel. When the Jesse's oldest son showed up, he looked impressive. Samuel thought "surely this must be the guy."

"But the Lord said to Samuel, 'Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.'" I Samuel 16:7

How appropriate it is that these versus were in my reading during this strange time. Many of us have countless worries these days:

Are we doing enough?
Will this ever end?
The experts say this could last until the fall.
Will my loved ones get sick?
Is my family safe?
Will the economy recover?
Will life ever be the same?

When those thoughts start creeping in, let's all think of David. Let's remember that we've got God, so we're not scared. And let's be people who have hearts that delight the Lord, shown in the way that we treat others and respond in times of crisis.

Maybe, just maybe, we'll come out of this whole thing better off than when we started.

Happy Easter!

The end.