Women’s Devotion: Listening & Trusting

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”
Isaiah 43:19

This is the third year in a row I’ve used this verse from Isaiah. I searched for another that inspired me, but I’m tired and uninspired. It’s been a year and a half since COVID became a household word, and I’m realizing it may be here to stay. I’m drowning in emails, and anxious about creating advancement opportunities for my staff. I’m worried about aging parents. I’m overwhelmed by the enormity of the problems we face. I’m saddened by how we treat each other and our world.

Then, I stop. I breathe. Again. Once more. At long last, I listen.

I sit outside in the twilight and feel the immensity of creation and the powerful presence of the Creator. Right in the midst of my worry wasteland, God still holds me fast and speaks a new word from the old. This time a loving reminder that to perceive, I must first listen, then trust.

Creator God, thank you for your loving patience. When we are too tired, worried, and self-absorbed to see the new things you spring up all around us, open our eyes and ears. Fill us with trust and confidence that you are always making a way in the wilderness. Amen

This month’s devotion was written by Suzan Lund. Suzan has been blessed to be a member of the Women’s Ministry Team since its inception in 2009. She is also a member of the tech team, running worship visuals about once a month. Suzan continues to be grateful for the opportunities Sheridan offers to learn and grow, and for her long-standing Sojourners group and Grace Group that keep her grounded in faith. She works at UNL in the Office of Research and Economic Development. She is married to Joseph Moser and mom to UNL sophomore, Zoey Moser.