Devo #2

Twice now I've written the devotion (aka devo) for PSF's weekly newsletter, and I thought I'd post them here too, for those of you that are interested but don't get the email. The first one was back in September in a post titled Grace. Here's number two:

Back in August before I had settled in to the YAV life here in Nashville, all of the Young Adult Volunteers had a week-long orientation together at a conference center in New York. The week was filled with plenty of worship, singing, and lectures providing us with the information we’d need to make our 11 months of service a meaningful experience. There was also ample opportunity for discussion with the other YAVs--what we thought our different cities and countries might be like, what we thought the challenges and rewards would be. In one of our large group discussions, one new YAV made a statement that still, two months later, stands out to me. 

“You will never go where God is not.”

Now just think about that for a minute. At first it took me a little while to truly appreciate the significance of that one small sentence. And sometimes, I think, it can be really hard to believe it. How is it possible that God is keeping a watchful eye over places consumed by poverty, natural disasters, war and other tragedy? Or even in that stressful week with two million tests and papers, when not a single thing seems to go right? I don’t know, exactly, but it reminds me of one of my favorite Bible verses, Joshua 1:9. It says: “I hereby command you: Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." (NRSV) The world in which we live may challenge that idea from time to time, but the notion that we're never going it alone can certainly be comforting as well.

Love, Allison