Desires? Plans? In A Pandemic?

I went for a run this morning and while I was out I crossed paths with a woman from our congregation who was out for a walk. We stopped to talk for a bit, giving me the opportunity to ask how she and her family were doing during the pandemic, and particularly the lockdown we have had here on the reservation for the past 10 days. Before we parted ways I lifted up a prayer with her, gathering some of the things we had talked about, especially the desire on our hearts for things to settle down, pandemic-wise, and get to normal, whatever the new normal might be.

That episode this morning came back to mind as I read Psalm 20 this afternoon. In verse 4 the psalmist writes:

“May he grant you your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans.”

Hmmm… What is my heart’s desire right now? What are my plans? If it was up to me, what would it be possible to do, right now? Besides entering a “new normal,” which presumably would have a marked resemblance to the “old normal” my heart’s desire and plans right now would include:

• For our congregation to gather for worship and share the Lord’s Supper.
• To be able to make visits to the hospitals and nursing homes.
• To travel with my family on vacation and visit our parents, grandparents, and grandchildren.
• For my wife and our kids to reconnect in-person with family and friends who live locally.

I could list quite a few other things, but these are the ones I find myself longing for day after day. Some of those things have been on hold since March. Others, like the vacation we didn’t return from this week, are more current. And there is nothing in the news that encourages me to make firm plans for any of them right now. I’m sure there is a horizon out there somewhere, but I have no idea how far away it is.

But that verse of Psalm 20 speaks to me in another way as well. Robin and I close each day reading the Bible and praying together. And that prayer, no which of us is praying on any particular day, often contains, or closes with, a request that we might continue to serve God well in the place where He has called us. And when that becomes my heart’s desire, when that sets the agenda for my plans…lets just say that the opportunities for success are all over the place.

I don’t think that there is anything wrong with the plans on my list, but as I wait on God’s timing to bring those opportunities closer, I know He has given me plenty of other very good things to do. Good things to do as I serve Him in this particular place, at this particular time, to His glory.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.