Journey to the Cross 
Pause
Hit the pause button. Stop the relentless unfolding—
scrolling—browsing—the ever-new news.
Pause both the inanity and the deadly serious—the latest horror,
and take a moment.
Consider what truly matters—and then,
how we can make sure that what truly matters
is a part of the future unfolding.
Listen
Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no danger because you are with me. Your rod and your staff—they protect me.
You set a table for me right in front of my enemies. You bathe my head in oil; my cup is so full it spills over! Yes, goodness and faithful love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the Lord’s house as long as I live.
Psalm 23:4-6
Think
The Bible persistently acknowledges how hard life is. This sacred text resonates with our lived experience. Because all of us live with hard diagnoses and debilitating diseases, with rejection, bullies, failures, with painful relationships and griefs, and the violence of our culture. We live with and see the ugliness all around us.
The Bible regularly reminds us, though, that we are not to live in fear. Not because life isn’t hard. Not because terrible things don’t happen. Not because God makes it easy for the faithful. But because God is with us, and that makes an unquantifiable difference. It’s not so much about what we see that’s bad, as what we trust—who we trust when things really are bad. Change may happen, and we’ll notice the difference if it does. In the meantime, it’s God’s consistent presence that we can count on. It is not the promise of an immediate fix, but of a long-term trust and assurance. I am not alone. God cares about that with which I, specifically, am struggling. Open our eyes, God, we want to see truly.
John Ballenger
Question to Ponder:
The people who love us most in life might not be able to do a thing about our circumstances, but are precisely the ones we want (need) with us in those circumstances. How would it change our perspective if we think about God that way, too–not as someone to fix our circumstances but to be with us in those circumstances?
Pray
Help us, God, in what is most hard, to lean into those whom we most trust (including you!) and to celebrate that kind of trust our whole lives long.
One hard circumstance we’re dealing with right now is…
Thank you that you are with us, even in this.
Amen.
Go
Go. God without the “d.”
Movement. Purpose (one hopes)—
direction—intention. Trajectory.
From all that brought us to this here and now,
we go—and maybe everything stays the same.
But maybe, everything changes.
