Day 10

DAILY DEVOT IONAL 10

Rev. Dr. John G. Smith

2 Samuel 18:30-33

Isaiah 53:3-5

John 11:32-35

REFLECTION

During my ministry, I have acquired a close affinity with grief. From comforting scores of members who lost loved ones, to my own personal experience as the sole living survivor of the four members of my family of origin, to facilitating bereavement support groups for others, and grieving the loss of a sizeable number of close friends and colleagues in the Covid pandemic. I was under the impression that I knew all that I could possibly know about grief. However, the brutal killing of my twelve-year-old granddaughter on February 10, 2023, plunged me into a heart wrenching time of grieving unlike anything I had ever experienced before. In those early days in what grief counselor, Dr. Alan Wolfelt has called “the wilderness of grief,” my cries often mirrored that of King David, who when he learned that his son, Absalom had been killed, cried out:

“O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you – O Absalom, my son, my son!”

The suffering and pain which the journey through the stages of grief brought me has been interwoven with the even slower process of healing. It takes time to experience healing, but it does come slowly as I can attest. In my situation, my unforgiving heart was an obstacle to my healing. It was not until by God’s grace, facilitated by much prayer, reading of the psalms, self-compassion, and a community of supporters, that I was able to relinquish the desire for revenge, and what I perceived as the justice I and my family deserved. Gradually, I became aware of a change, working its way from inside of me, which began to change my whole demeanor and outlook.

I am still on my journey in the wilderness of grief but reflecting on the journey thus far, I know that the healing I have experienced has only come as I have ‘let go and let God.’ For me and for all who must navigate the terrors of grief, our help and our hope are in Jesus Christ our Comforter, the One ‘acquainted with all our grief,’ meaning he has encountered more grief than we have, understands our need for comfort, and is capable and able to help us find our way through the wilderness.

PRAYER:

Christ, the Healer, draw near to all who currently, and even for a long time now have been journeying through the wilderness of grief. As you companioned Mary and Martha grieving the death of Lazarus, even weeping alongside them in their sorrow, walk with us, strengthen us, support and restore us. Heal us, Emmanuel, hear our prayer; we wait to feel your touch. Amen.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION:

1. Where might there be a need for healing in your life which you have been ignoring?

2. What would you ask Christ the Healer for (i) yourself, (ii) someone else, and (iii) our country and the world? 3. What word or action can you extend to someone you know who is hurting as a way of encouraging healing for that individual?

Day 9

DAILY DEVOT IONAL 9

Alison VanBuskirk Philip

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. - Ezekiel 36:26

The apostle Paul describes flesh and spirit as opposites in his letters. But here in Ezekiel, the opposite of flesh is stone, not spirit. God wants to replace our heart of stone with a heart of flesh. God wants to soften and heal what fear and pain have turned to stone. Instead of being hard and impenetrable like stone, a heart of flesh is tender and accessible. Instead of being firm or frozen like stone, a heart of flesh is flowing and flexible.

These links and contrasts say something powerful about healing. Modern neuroscience is learning just how much the body and brain are interconnected via the nervous system. We store negative experiences and trauma in our bodies. That means healing happens not outside of our bodies, not by avoiding or overcoming them, and not just through intellectual understanding, but healing happens in and through our bodies, our flesh.

This emerging science is deeply synchronistic with Christian theology. The incarnation reveals that God cares about the body. Jesus put on flesh to show us who God is, which is not impenetrable and detached but accessible, tender, and engaged with the world. Jesus entered into all the joy and suffering of being human in a body. He cared for others, body and spirit. Post-resurrection, Jesus appeared again as a body that bore scars, walked alongside others, and shared bread and fish. God brings healing to humanity through God’s own embodiment.

And so we are free to inhabit our bodies as locations of God’s presence and healing. Body and spirit are connected. One element of embodied spiritual healing is our breathing. The word for breath in the biblical languages is the same as the word for spirit. Breath is flowing and flexible. It calms our nervous systems, slows our heart rates, and tells our brains that we are safe.

• Breathing in, we welcome God’s Spirit.

• Breathing out, we release what we are holding.

• Breathing in, we receive new life from God.

• Breathing out, God moves us into relationship, into action.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION:

• When is a time that you experienced God renewing your heart or spirit?

• How does or might the incarnation shape your relationship to your body?

• What is a connection for you between breath and prayer?

PRAYER:

Lord of Life, as we breathe in, fill our hearts with your loving presence. As we breathe out, help us release what blocks our healing. May we experience your Spirit in and through our embodied lives, in the name of Jesus who embodied you. Amen.

HYMNS, SONGS, OR ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Breathe on Me, Breath of God (United Methodist Hymnal #420)

Day 8

DAILY DEVOTIONAL 8

Brad Leight

Proverbs 3:1-6

I’ve often heard that “getting old isn’t for wimps,” and I can appreciate that sentiment. Yet I recently discovered the daily challenges faced by the “sandwich” generation – those tasked with guiding and caring for both children and adult family members, while maintaining a multitude of ongoing responsibilities – aren’t for the faint of heart either.

The demands, pressures, and stress of navigating parenting, caregiving and arranging care, professional responsibilities, household responsibilities, pet responsibilities (after all, dogs can’t walk themselves!) – oh, and don’t forget a little self-care… all that can feel overwhelming. Just as needs in one area appear to be addressed, a crisis arises in another. Anxiety spikes with each ding of a text message, as we wonder what fresh new disaster will be revealed. As pressures mount, it can become more and more difficult to hope. Each time our hopes rise, a new challenge inevitably seems to deflate them. It can seem much easier – and safer – not to get our hopes up in the first place.

The opening verses of Proverbs 3 speak to the wisdom of committing to lives of loyalty, love, and faithfulness. When a covenant commitment to love and remain faithful to God is written on the tablet of our heart, and our trust is centered in God, God will direct us through every difficulty and disaster life brings. The difficulties and defeats we face, though, have a way of chipping away at our commitment. Choosing to trust isn’t a one-time decision; it’s a lifelong endeavor.

Recent challenges I’ve faced in a “sandwich” season have reminded me how my choice to trust God must be made each day. Sometimes, each hour of each day. While I don’t need to sugarcoat the difficulty and hurt I’m experiencing in that moment, I do need to expressly choose to place the bruised and battered trust I have in God. Some paths take a long time to be made straight; still, I believe the choice to trust God is the foundational step to healing and renewed hope. I recently scribbled out the following prayer in a trying moment; I pray it will help you choose to trust when trusting is difficult.

PRAYER:

God, I come today trusting at least wanting to trust. You are good, Lord, that I do know. Yet my heart hurts, as a glimmer of hope has seemingly evaporated. Darkened to night. I wanted to dream, opened up, allowed myself to dream, and then my dream was crushed as quickly as it appeared. It hurts, God, deeply in my soul.

So God, I need to whine. I need to lament. I need to say a dream has been crushed; I need to grieve. I hear your wisdom: Trust in the Lord with all my heart, and I do. I will. I will choose to do so, even as I stumble in my hurt.

Help me to do that today: to choose to trust and not spiral in unhealthy thoughts. And as I trust, grant me the hope to slowly dream again.

QUESTIONS:

1. What challenge(s) do you face that is making it difficult to trust in God’s goodness and direction?

2. Can you use the prayer – or offer your own prayer – to seek God’s help in renewing your trust?

Day 7

DAILY DEVOTIONAL 7

Darlene DiDomineck

For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. - Jeremiah 29:11 NRSV(UE)

“With hope comes resilience and with resilience comes new beginnings.” - Indigo Girls

Healing requires hope. Hope cultivates resilience.

I spend my days with my unhoused/unsheltered neighbors. I am appointed to serve a daytime drop-in center called Grace Cafe. Grace Cafe is a ministry of Arch Street UMC’s nonprofit called the Center-Philadelphia. Philadelphia is the poorest of the ten largest cities in the US. The needs in this city are great. I bear witness to the traumatizing impact of the intersecting systems of oppression that bring my neighbors to the doorstep of the church every single day. That kind of trauma can sometimes make hope a difficult thing to embody.

About a year ago one of our drop in center guests arrived with wounds covering most of her body. Wounds I can only describe as apocalyptic in nature. The wounds were caused by an animal tranquilizer called xylazine which is commonly added to street opioids. She knew she needed to go to the emergency room. She feared however she would be judged or discriminated against by the emergency room staff if she didn’t get a shower and a clean pair of clothes first. She was in excruciating pain. Every movement was nearly unbearable.

She had only visited the drop in center a few times before that day. But she knew that if she could just get to the church she would find the support and resources she needed. She knew if she could just get to that big grey stone church on the corner that she would be received with love, dignity and compassion. And she was.

She returned to the drop in center a few months later after a lengthy stay in the hospital and rehab. Her wounds were healing and she had a new sense of hope and resilience. For her it was an opportunity for a new beginning.

May each of us find hope, resilience and a new beginning just when we need it the most. May God compel us to be bearers of hope in the midst of pain, cultivators of a resilience that brings about a new beginning wherever we find ourselves. A new beginning that can only be found when in community.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

1. How different would our world be if every church felt like a place of hope and healing for its neighbors on the most painful day of their lives?

2. In what ways do you need to change to become a bearer of hope and cultivator of resilience?

3. How can you be an agent of healing for those in your life today?

PRAYER:

God of Hope, your love is a healing balm on our most painful days. Compel us to be the same for this broken and hurting world in need of your love today. Amen.

Day 6

DAILY DEVOT IONAL 6

Eunice Lee, Arcola Covenant Community Lay Leader

The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. - Psalm 34:18 And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. - Matthew 28:20

Holy Week and the season of Lent have taken on a deeper significance for me since the passing of Pastor John Suh last year.

All through the Lenten season, ACC members signed up for hourly prayer circle slots and to write Daily Bread messages to our beloved Pastor and his family to provide hope, love, and encouragement in their time of need. In return, until Day 34, the day before he passed away, Pastor John responded to nearly all the devotion writers with poignant and hopeful emails which were like mini sermons, testimonials, and pep talks. In this way, despite his advancing illness, he continued to pastor to us with joy until the very end, revealing his great love for God and for ACC.

Pastor John took his last breath on Holy Monday. We held a glorious funeral service for him on Maundy Thursday, attended by a standing room-only crowd of 500. He was buried on Good Friday. We gathered at his grave early in the morning on Holy Saturday. ACC’s first Sunday worship service after his passing was on Easter Sunday.

You might think it unfortunate timing, but it was God’s plan to time Pastor John’s passing to be the perfect ending to his short-lived but powerful and enduring legacy at ACC – allowing Pastor John to be the instrument through which we experienced Holy Week on a personal and profound level. Our sorrow at Jesus’ crucifixion was heightened when we gathered on Good Friday and grieved for Pastor John, recognizing the heavy cross he bore so joyfully while suffering unfathomable pain. The hope and elation we felt in Christ’s resurrection was intensified as we rejoiced in Pastor John’s resurrection to his eternal home on Easter Sunday.

Last year’s Holy Week was an opportunity for me to witness the miracle of God’s divine and compassionate timing. Amidst my despair and mourning, He helped me begin my healing process, strengthened with the deep faith that He was with Pastor John, and with ACC, every step of the way. What a precious and loving God He is!

PRAYER:

Father God, thank you for knowing when we are brokenhearted and need your solace. Thank you that you are always with us until the end of time. Thank you for using others in our lives to reflect Jesus’ love and show us how to surrender ourselves before you.

We pray that our hearts and minds can always be open to hear your voice and feel your presence so that we may discern the ways you lead, reassure, use, and love us. During this season of Lent, help us to reflect more intentionally on your teachings and connect to you more intimately through our prayers, fasting, and worship.

We love you and praise you, our Strength, our Hope, and our Comfort. Amen

Day 5

DAILY DEVOTIONAL 5

Rev. Cindy Brubaker

Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes. - Matthew 6:34

THE MESSAGE:

In an early episode of “The Crown”, the ill King George takes his future son-in-law, Prince Philip, out shooting to explain to him that the titles and all are not the job. He says, “She (Princess Elizabeth) is the job. She is the essence of your duty. Loving her. Protecting her.”

One anxious day I heard the Lord say, “I want you to rest in Me. Trust Me. Believe Me. Love Me. This is the essence of your duty, the fulfillment of your work - your life in Me.”

I was blown away. The job for me has always been the Lord and everything else: family, church, praying, preaching, ministering, loving, giving, forgiving, fixing, and more. But I do not have to divide my attention and life up into so many exhausting pieces. I can choose to make the Lord my sole focus, the essence of my life, and the Lord will lead me in paths of righteousness, restore my soul, and make me light in dark places.

What would it be like to make the Lord your God the sole focus of your life today?

Good Shepherd of my soul, I am tired. Teach me to rest in and trust and believe You. I want to love You more and know Your love working in and through me. I surrender all the pieces of my life to You now. Holy Spirit, help me to give You my undivided attention so that Christ’s life will be in me a light to the world, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Day 4

DAILY DEVOT IONAL 4

Jacqueline Tilford

Moses said to the Lord, ‘Please forgive the wrongs of these people…’ Then the LORD said, ‘I will forgive as you requested….’ - Numbers 14:19-20

PREPARING MY HEART FOR FORGIVENESS

Decades ago, the rejection of a family member shook me to my core. It was deeply disappointing and hurtful. The fallout was humiliating, requiring a long drive home alone through several states. I desperately needed God’s love to wash over me and cleanse me of the pain and hurt. Instead of words to pray, a profound image came to mind. Jesus’ arms were lovingly wrapped around both of us; our heads were bowed as we humbly encircled one another, soaking in the love that flowed and never ended. “Praying” the image daily prepared me for the moment I finally realized, the hurt was healed; no pain or ill will was felt. It was an incredibly joyous moment!

Forgiveness was cause for celebration in a second instance. When two women spent energy searching for me from state to state, they urgently wanted to apologize for their involvement in a racist event that occurred fifteen years earlier. Prayerfully, living in multi-cultural contexts and anti-racism training gave me insights for coping and maneuvering. I felt no malice in my mind; though it is likely that my body was “keeping the score.” Their humble apology was a delightful surprise for which I continue to be grateful, for their sake as well as mine.

I have also needed to repent and seek forgiveness. I need forgiveness from inaction when offended or witnessing an offense rather than choose to fight with the weapons God provides. When I sincerely asked forgiveness from friends for arrogantly and belligerently exuding an attitude of “calling offenders out” to be rebuked and shamed, rather than “calling them in” to God’s circle of love and healing, reconciliation happened and hearts healed, leading to a place where “All is known. All is forgiven.”

PRAYER:

Forgive us, God, for being quick to offend and be offended but slow to forgive and seek forgiveness. Help us to feel the urgency to heal and be healed that you feel. Amen.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION:

1. Who do I need to forgive today?

2. Is there someone I’ve harmed and need to ask their forgiveness?

3. What can I do to increase a culture of forgiveness that heals within the Church?

Day 3

DAILY DEVOT IONAL 3

Judy Ehninger

A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. - 1 Corinthians 12:7 (NLT)

BE THE GIFT GOD CREATED YOU TO BE

When I cleaned out a closet recently, I found a beautiful gift a friend had given me many months ago. I remember when she gave me the gift, I was thrilled! It made me feel so special and loved that she purchased it with me in mind. Yet somehow in the busyness of life, the gift became buried underneath "stuff," hidden and unused. I can’t imagine how disappointed my friend would be if she knew I hadn’t continued to treasure it.

It made me pause and think about the gifts that the Ultimate Gift Giver has given each of us, and whether or not we’re using them. I envision God, with His infinite creativity, pouring over each of us as He formed us, selecting unique abilities and spiritual gifts to prepare us for the work that He has called us to do, our journey of healing.

It’s our job to steward these gifts. We must prayerfully consider what they are and how we can use them to serve a world in desperate need — this is our purpose, our calling, our journey of healing.

I have worked with men and women who were overcoming exploitation, addiction, and domestic abuse. Because of their life circumstances, many of these individuals had never considered God’s purpose for their life. Many were frightened and scarred, afraid they couldn’t do anything right. Through love, encouragement, hard work, and prayer, many of these students became successfully employed in allied health professions. Each learned that God gifted them with a HUGE heart of compassion for suffering people and an incredible sense of perseverance.

Just imagine what the world would be like if we began to steward the gifts God has given us to serve each other and bring healing to the broken.

Unlike the gift my friend gave me long ago, let’s not keep our unique gifts from God hidden under a mountain of stuff in the closet of our lives. Let’s use our gifts for His glory now, on our journey of healing.

Are you aware of your giftedness?

How can you more effectively use your spiritual gifts?

Lord, we thank you for our spiritual gifts. Help us share these gifts and your love with everyone we meet. Guide us we pray. Amen.

Day 2

DAILY DEVOTIONAL 2

Pastor David Woolverton

To bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. – Isaiah 61:3 (NIV)

“BEAUTY FROM ASHES”

Throughout my childhood and teenage years, I always imagined myself becoming a doctor. I loved the sciences and had set my sights on medicine from an early age. But during high school, something began to shift. Encouraged by my brothers and teachers, I discovered a love for music, theater, and leadership. By my senior year, I was elected Student Council President, a role that required me to speak weekly to hundreds of my peers. Though public speaking didn’t come naturally at first, something inside me came alive as I stood before them each Monday morning, leading assemblies

Then came a devastating fire. The main building of our high school—the heart of our campus—was destroyed. Watching it burn was heartbreaking. In the aftermath, the local United Methodist church opened its doors to us, offering their Sunday School rooms for our classes and their sanctuary for our assemblies. I remember taking personally the role of bringing hope and direction to my fellow classmates in the face of loss.

Years later, I stumbled across my high school yearbook. There, in my senior photo, taken in the wake of the fire, I was standing at that pulpit––the place where every Monday morning I would lead the gatherings. It was a moment of great clarity. I wasn’t just leading assemblies in high school—I was stepping into God’s calling for my life. Though I couldn’t see it at the time, God was using those moments to prepare me for ministry. Only God could take the ashes of a fire and turn them into the foundation of a lifelong purpose.

REFLECTION QUESTION:

Where in your life have you experienced “ashes”—moments of loss or brokenness––and how might God be working to bring beauty and purpose from those experiences?

PRAYER:

Lord, You are the God who brings beauty from ashes. Thank You for weaving Your purpose into our lives, even when we can’t see it at the time. Open our eyes to Your redemptive work and help us trust in Your perfect plan. May we embrace the calling You have prepared for us in Jesus’s name. Amen.

Day 1

DAILY DEVOTIONAL 1

John Christopher Wallace

Malachi 4:3-5

Ordinarily, the OT prophets are not known for pleasantries. However, at the end of the prophecy of Malachi, we learn that obedience to YHWH will present to the faithful a healing like none other. While not necessarily a healing of the body, our strengthened relationship with the LORD will yield a healing of our souls. We cannot manufacture this healing, but we must realize that it comes as we seek the LORD daily. An added bonus found in Malachi's words is the promise of the "Elijah," better known to us as John the Baptist, the forerunner of our LORD Jesus Christ. While this "Elijah" demanded repentance, he also desired that his first hearers (and us as well) take very seriously the creation of an intimate relationship with the prophesied Messiah. He and He alone can provide the healing we need if we but ask. He and He alone can and will forgive us those things that divide and help us to foster stronger relationships with each other and with our LORD.

QUESTIONS:

1. What other OT references can we cite for healing that only YHWH can provide?

2. While many people pray for a healing of the body (and rightly so), do we find it hard to pray for a healing of our souls?

3. Malachi tells us that "Elijah" will "turn hearts." Have our hearts become hard toward each other? Can we plead with Jesus Christ to turn ours?