No doubt your experience is similar to mine in these turbulent days:

• Travel restrictions imposed
• Stores sold out of many items
• Church is posted online since gatherings are prohibited
• Traffic is much lighter than normal, even during rush hour
• There is a palpable sense of uncertainty in the air
• Stocks plummet
• My inbox is inundated with every major institution telling me how they care about me and what they are doing to help the situation.

When I received the word from our mission organization saying that I needed to return home as soon as possible, at first I was skeptical, since life seemed very normal in Lusaka, Zambia, and the pastors were hungry to continue the training. Yet as the situation quickly unfolded, it became clear that action was required.

I want to encourage you with the best word I can offer you: God’s Word. Of the many passages to which we could turn, I’ll share Psalm 62, which my wife Holly quoted to me yesterday.

“For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.” (Ps.62:5-8)

I appreciate this Psalm because clearly the focus is on the Lord. These days, much of our attention is drawn to disease, to the news, to developments, to ourselves. A much healthier approach that will create stability in turbulent times is to focus on the Lord. We wait for Him, our hope is from Him, He is our rock, our salvation, our fortress, so we will not be shaken. We will not be shaken when I’m halfway around the world from my family and our kitchen plumbing blows up, leaking down the wall, through the floor into the basement, and we find this has been going on for months creating the #1 most toxic mold in our walls that very likely has been affecting my sick wife and daughter. My salvation rests on God, my rock and my refuge.

So the call goes out from David the Psalmist to all people: Trust in the Lord at all times, pour out your heart before Him. He is our refuge. Seek protection and safety in Him. I’ve been pouring out my heart to God recently for a number of reasons, and He is near. There is tremendous comfort in knowing that He is our God and we are His people. Now is the time when our faith shows its quality, now is the time for us to trust in the Lord above all others. May you sense His care, His nearness, His protection, His sovereign providence. And join me in praying that He will be glorified and magnified globally by people from every tongue and tribe and nation.