COVID-19 Devotional: 1 Peter 5:7

Up next on our COVID-19 Devotional, Darla shares how important it is to remember God’s character when we are wrestling through a difficult time, pain or isolation. Starting with 1 Peter 5:7 and God’s love in hard times.

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Hey guys – I’m Darla from Reign Ministries. I don’t know about you, but these last few weeks have been pretty weird and for many people they have been really, really hard. Sometimes when things get turned upside down in my life, I can wonder about God and about where He is in the situation and if He loves me. If God is the most powerful being in the universe, then why isn’t He doing something?

That’s such a huge topic that I can’t tackle in a video or post! But what I can do is tell you a little bit about my story and how God helped me process through some of those thoughts.

See, I was raised going to church and I loved God. I had even given Him my life to Him. But, when my brother almost died in an accident and then was disabled, his life was totally different! It was so tough on our family. It really shook my faith. I was a true mess! Maybe you are in that place right now too or you know people who are.

As I think through those really tough, gut wrenching days…what was the one thing that helped me process through it? Truthfully, it was learning about the character of God. That’s what I needed. I needed to be grounded, rooted, and solid, convinced of the goodness of God. This started to really grow in me when I began to look into the Bible and consider God’s character.

Let me show you what I mean by looking at a few of my favorite verses about God and His love for us.

1 Peter 5:7 “You can throw the whole weight of your anxieties upon him, for you are his personal concern.”

I love that idea that we are God’s personal concern. God’s not delegating that off to someone else because we aren’t important enough. He cares for us. He says we are His personal concern, YOU are His personal concern. That’s pretty amazing! I really need to be reminded of that in these crazy times.

Isaiah 40:11 – He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; He gently leads those that have young.

I love that picture (cause I’m a visual learner). I picture that tiny lamb who would be left behind and God picks it up and carries them close to His heart. He takes care of the mothers too; those who have just given birth. They are probably exhausted. I don’t know what that’s like, maybe you do, but He cares for them. He gently leads them too.

Those are the things I had to focus my soul on! That’s my challenge for you. I hope that you will dig into the Bible and look at the character of God. Ask yourself, “What is God doing here?” or “What do these verses say about God’s character?”

Sometimes that can bring up even more questions than answers. That’s OK! Because God does not mind the hard questions. Just keep going to Him and asking Him for His perspective in all of this. I know He will answer you.

This is my prayer for you, that in this season of unprecedented challenges you will seek the Lord and hear His voice in these hard times. We love you and are praying for you!

Further study:

Romans 8:38-39
Psalm 34 (especially verse 18)

Reflection Questions:
What do these verses say about God? About His character?
What is God doing here? What is His action or motion?
Have you talked to God honestly about how you feel?

Bonus Idea:
Can you think of Bible passages that teach us about God’s character and His love? Write them on a card or paper and put them up in a place you will see them everyday as a reminder.

Originally Published April 3, 2020