Survival Mode

As I write this devotion this morning, I’m reminded about how so many people just came through the powerful devastation of Hurricane Helene. Lives have been forever changed. Lives have been lost.

Some witnessed their loved ones being carried away with the current of the forceful flood waters. Many loved ones are unaccounted for and presumed dead. Many homes were blown or washed away. Communities forever altered and could take years to rebuild.

Hopelessness seems to be the word I am hearing so much during this time. I can understand everyone being in survival mode. Just trying to get through the next hour or day. Imagine what you have known is gone and your life will now be different and so very difficult. No amount of food and money can take away the sting of what has happened. These things are essential and needed, but these folks have lost their peace of mind.

Being able to see past what they are going through is key to their survival. I listened to a mom who had been on the roof with her mom, dad and son when that roof collapsed. She told her story to the news. She along with her parents and son were being swept away by the flood waters. As she lost her grip on her boy, she heard him call out to God. He went to heaven, and she was holding on to a tree. When she let go, she was carried to an area where she was rescued.

This brave mom is now living the verses in today’s post. She is definitely grieving over the loss, but not being consumed by the circumstances she is in because of this tragedy. She was very clear in where her strength was coming. She was and is depending on His word. She is relying on God’s love and compassion. Each day is a new day with strength that can only come from Him.

I’m not saying overcoming is easy. (Especially for those that are hurting right now). I’m saying, just as that mom is seeing past her grief, we can all take a look at how we are reacting to our own life's circumstances. Are we just surviving or are we learning how to overcome the world (and the things in it) through our faith.

My love and prayers continue for all those that have suffered unfathomable loss.

Lamentations 3:22-23 KJV

[22] It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. [23] They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. #helpforyourdailywalk #paulaandthebible