In these days when normal life is interrupted and we have to keep physical distance from one another for the sake of our health and well-being, Lord of Life continues to be a community connected together. We offer you these daily devotions, “Hope in an Uncertain Time,” to offer you comfort, support, and strength. We may not be able to be together today, but we are still church.
Friday, March 20, 2020
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. Romans 8:26
It has happened a couple of times for me. Suddenly life felt upside down, and my false belief that I was in control came crashing down.
I remember it most vividly when our son Samuel was in kindergarten. He woke up one morning with a very sore spot on his wrist. We started at urgent care and were immediately sent to Children’s Hospital, where we spent a couple days in limbo as they tried to determine the issue.
We ended up at the U of M Hospital for a late-night surgery with a pediatric hand surgeon, who removed a pocket of strep infection from Sam’s wrist. Weeks of 24-hour intravenous antibiotics at home followed.
During those days at Children’s when one doctor after another came in, I was scared. If these experts didn’t know what was happening, how were they going to help Sam?
And when I tried to pray, the words simply wouldn’t come. Just… nothing. But I clung desperately to the promise of Romans 8:26, that the “Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.” That verse is set to a melody, and it played continually in my head throughout those days.
This time of the coronavirus pandemic has caused everything familiar to turn upside down. Our routines have all come crashing down. And sometimes in the midst of all the fear, the words we want to pray may not come.
At times like this, we rest in the assurance that God knows our needs whether we can form the words or not. God is alongside us as we navigate this new world. God loves us, and together as a family of faith, we will find our way forward.
Ever-present God, we know you are with us in the midst of all we are experiencing. Hear the sighs of our hearts, and bring healing and peace to all of your people. Surround and protect those who care for the sick and the broken. Amen.
Lori Buegler
