Today we read from Joshua 22:21-23:16 in the One Year Bible. It starts out with a ringing proclamation by the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh. They are accused of building their own altar to a foreign god. But they proclaim: "The LORD, the Mighty One, is God!"
They are worshipping God the same as the other tribes, they just wanted an altar on their side of the Jordan so they wouldn't be cut off from Him by the river.
How applicable that is for us today, right?? We all feel cut off from Him in various ways. We can't go to the church building. We can't fellowship with other Christians. We can't hear sermons preached in person. We can't receive the Eucharist. We're cut off!
But take heart. We aren't cut off from Him. He is here with us. When we suffer, that's when He's with us the most! CS Lewis famously said that God whispers in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain. Many of you are seriously suffering right now, with lost jobs, afflicted health, fear of disease and fear of the future. But God is here, right in the midst of your suffering. Offer your pain to Him, and He will transform it, and you, into something magnificent.
God, thanks for never letting us be cut off from You.
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