“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”—Romans 8:38-39 (NIV)
I opened the Night Sky app on my phone and lifted it to the night sky. Its light shone brilliantly against the ink-blackness of the Atlantic Ocean.
Here I was, on a ship in the middle of nowhere, relying on technology to find what sailors had followed for centuries. The phone’s glow ruined my night vision, but I needed its help. Everything looked different out here. No landmarks, no light pollution—just stars upon stars upon stars, an overwhelming sky in which the ones I knew were nowhere to be found.
Growing up, I’d always thought the North Star was the navigator’s friend—fixed and reliable. But I’d recently learned that magnetic north actually shifts. The pole wanders. What I thought was unmovable…moves. How disorienting.
Isn’t this exactly how spiritual disorientation begins?The pastor we trust is embroiled in scandal. The healing we claim by faith doesn’t materialize. The marriage we thought God blessed falls apart. The church that felt like family wounds us deeply. The child we raised in faith walks away. And God? He seems silent right when we need Him most.
Read more at “Devotionals for the Heart “