Saturday was gorgeous….and we needed a bight sunny day after so much rain and being cooped up inside.  So Dori and I took off for a walk…well, it turned out to be more like a hike.  We went over to a large forest near our house and because we had the time we decided to take a path that we thought would lead us to 2 Brothers Rock and the Concord River.  As we walked we ran into some mud and big puddles and so we circumvented our path and chose another one….and another one….and another one.  I kept saying to myself that if we got lost we could always backtrack but pretty soon I could not remember our “back track” and so we wandered….deeper and deeper into the woods….with no sight of 2 Brothers Rock or any big rock for that matter.  Almost 3 miles in I began to get a bit anxious (but of course I wasn’t going to show Dori that I was…after all I had been a Boy Scout and had my Camping merit badge!

 

Dori mentioned that she was getting a bit tired….and so was I.  We had already been gone for an hour and ½ and we had not told anyone where we were going.

 

And then we stubbled upon a sign….a dear wonderful sign!  What a relief.  It pointed us to a familiar sounding road… a road that would lead us home.

 

That wonderful sign reminded us that help was near.

 

And that is what I want to remind us of today.  Help is near.

 

Paul says in Philippians 4:5:  “The Lord is near.”  Just as the sight of a sign gives comfort so the presence of the Lord gives comfort…reassurance that He will lead us out of whatever lost place we find ourselves.  That He has been there before us and marked out our way.

 

The verses that follow this statement…Philippians 4:6,7 are familiar to many of us.

 

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

 

The antidote to anxiety is reminding ourselves that God is near.  When He is near…. we have no need to worry or fret…for He has been here and He knows the way and will get us back home. 

 

The disciples, after the crucifixion, were lost.  They were hiding away in a locked room.  They had no idea where or what to do next.  They were deep in the woods.

 

And then Jesus showed up….like a sign post deep in the woods.  “Do not be afraid” He said.  But He did not need to say anything because His presence was enough.  Just to know that He was near.

 

You may be feeling lost right now….lost about how to survive this Covid... Lost about how you will pay your bills after being furloughed…lost about how you will ever feel comfortable going to a wedding, at a funeral, a game…church, lost about how to homeschool your kids and still do your own job…lost about how you will ever retire after what you have lost…

 

It’s natural to feel lost during these times.  We all do….to go up and down.  I feel like I have one up day and then a down day.

 

But let’s remind ourselves that He is near.  He is when we feel His presence and when we don’t.  Our feelings don’t change the reality of His presence…His help….His direction.

 

Prayer