Quote of the week:

“You O Lord are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. (v3) I laid down and slept; I woke again for the Lord sustained me. (v5)  I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me.  Salvation belongs to the Lord. (v8)”                     Psalms 3:3, 5, 8)

We are so thankful to be in Michigan to enjoy the fall colors.  We were not supposed to be here.  In fact, the original plan was for us to be heading back to PNG a week ago.  But, we find ourselves still here.  So, another blessing from Covid. In my last update I also let you all know that we are going to be grand parents!  Well, the grand baby is due at the end of January.  As our plans continue to evolve, and things continue to get pushed back, we have made the decision to just stay in the States until our grand child arrives.  So, yet another blessing from Covid-19.  When we heard our son and his wife were expecting, we never thought we’d be able to be here for the baby’s arrival.  But, what a wonderful blessing.

As we anticipate being here for several more months, we would love to be able to connect with you personally.  We have begun lining up opportunities to be in the churches that support us here in Michigan.  We will be also putting together a presentation that we can do via Zoom.  Stay tuned for information about that.  If you would like to connect with us, please let us know so we can set up something, in person if possible.  But, if not, virtually at the least.    Well, before I get carried away let me give you some specific things you can be praying for us and our kids. Thanks for standing behind us in prayer.
David Watters

Prayer Requests

News

The big prayer request this week is for Caleb.  He was exposed to someone who tested positive to Covid at school.  So, he has come home to “self-quarantine” with 2 of his friends. They are in our home, but we will be social distancing in the house.  Pray all goes well, and that they can return to school next week. Since we are going to be in the States through the end of January, pray we will be able to visit our churches and supporters here in Michigan. Continue to pray that things will open up in Australia, or that another route into PNG will open up, so that missionaries can begin to return to PNG. Pray that our change of plans does not create more work for those who are already carrying extra responsibilities with the shortage of people still on the field.

Since we are remaining in the US for several more months, we have friends who are missionaries serving in a missionary care role in Alaska, who have asked if we would come visit them.  As we have prayed about it, we decided it would be a good opportunity to spend some time comparing notes, and just encouraging them in their ministry. As we were praying about it, another friend heard about it and offered to cover some of the cost.  So, that means we are going to Alaska in a couple weeks.  We definitely would not have been able to do that if it wasn’t for Covid.  We are just full of all kinds of blessings because of Covid today! We will be with them for about 10 days.  We don’t know exactly what to expect, but everyone who has been to Alaska has told us it’s beautiful.  I look forward to sharing some pictures.

Some thoughts from God’s Word:

Resting when you can’t see what God is doing
“You O Lord are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. (v3) I laid down and slept; I woke again for the Lord sustained me. (v5) I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me. (v6) Salvation belongs to the Lord. (v8)” (Psalms 3:3,5,6,8)

In my Bible reading this week, I was reading through 2 Samuel at the same time that I started the Psalms. We follow a plan developed by Robert McCheyne where you read 4 chapters each day, all from different parts of the Bible. The passage I read in 2 Samuel was 2 Samuel 14.

2 Samuel 14 describes David fleeing Jerusalem because He knows Absalom is on his way to overthrow him. As David walked out of Jerusalem, he left behind his palace and everything he had. I found myself wondering, “What was going through David’s mind?” What would be going through my mind? I would be a wreck. I would be worried about what Absalom might do to make a statement. Absalom had already done quite a job undermining David in front of the people. Man, I would have been worried sick. How about you?

Then, I turned over to Psalm 3. The opening to Psalm 3 says, “A Psalm of David, when he fled Absalom his son.” I was wondering what David was thinking! Well, God wrote it down. So, here it is!

“You O Lord are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. (v3) I laid down and slept; I woke again for the Lord sustained me. (v5) I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me. (v6) Salvation belongs to the Lord. (v8)”

After walking out of his palace, leaving everything behind, when he puts his head down that night, he went to sleep! How many nights have you gone to bed and not been able to sleep because of anxiety over things that are a lot smaller than what David had just experienced? How did he do it? The Lord was his shield. He believed God, trusted Him and found the Lord lifted his head up. He was able to simply trust God, even though he had no idea what God was doing, or what the outcome would be. He believed WITHOUT doubting, that God had things under control!

This is beautiful for us today in 2020! Even as I shared Caleb and his 2 friends having to leave Bible School because they were exposed to Covid. We can become worried and anxious about so many things. But, take a lesson from David. Learn to rest with God as your shield and the one who lifts your head up to see beyond your troubles!

May you be able to lay down and sleep, because you know God has you!