Virtually all of us have engaged in big questions related to COVID-19 vaccines: Should I? When? Where? How? What can I expect?” Along the way, we’ve encountered an abundance of guidance: “Book here!” “Go there!”
When I went for my jab, I found myself impressed by the guidance provided. I encountered friendly traffic controllers pointing where to park. Guides pointed me to the arena entrance. Before I left, I had been directed by well over a dozen guides. That helped me to feel good on that special occasion when I received my rite of passage. Of course, I won’t discount my own role — in asking questions.
Isn’t that how a crisis works? It gets people asking questions. But that doesn’t mean that the big question gets raised — the all-time question that God Himself wants us to ask. We could call it the “Big Ask”. It’s the one that Jeremiah set before his own nation during a time of crisis:
“Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Jeremiah 6:16a NIV)
Surely this reflects whatever particular spiritual crossroads we face today, requiring the same steps: Stand … Look … Ask …
Note that this instruction was for God’s people. We then wonder, who amongst us is asking the “Big Ask”? You? … Me?
Sadly, professing Christians have often assumed that they knew “the ancient paths” and were walking in “the good way”. We’re easily tempted to think that way. Our own rites of passage and our religious busyness prevent us from standing still long enough to notice and examine whatever critical crossroads is facing us. We fail to notice a lack of spiritual rest experienced in our lives and our relationships, namely the rest promised through Jeremiah: “You will find rest for your souls.” Remember, if we’re not asking for “the ancient paths” and “the good way”, we risk the same failure as Jeremiah’s people: They said, “We will not walk in it!” (Jeremiah 6:16b NIV)
The sense of security and inner peace that comes with COVID-19 vaccines and the abatement of the pandemic puts us at risk of the terrible, fateful temptation to suppress the “Big Ask”. The unsurpassed question then remains dormant within our souls.
I wonder who among us views the COVID-19 crisis as a God-ordained opportunity to step off whatever our treadmill is, and position ourselves spiritually for the “Big Ask”. Why not seize this timely crisis to seek ever more diligently after the “good way” — truly God’s best for us? Christ Himself draws us into the “good way”, in His words:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28 NIV)
With this revitalizing promise in view, I invite you to pray with me:
Prayer: Lord of restfulness, this very day, help me to stop, stand still, look, and ask! For I long to experience Your perfect rest as never before, and in turn, become an authentic guide for others seeking “the good way”. Amen.
Diane Eaton
Paisley, Ontario, Canada
Republished from PresbyCan Daily Devotionals with author’s permission.
