Out of Stock

This era continues to be an interesting one. Filled with briefings, advice, projections, video chats, updates, markets, curves, shelter-in-place orders...until it all begins to run together to show one thing. Frailty. But I think the phrase that stands out most is...Out of stock.

Depleted resources spark creativity & much progress but can’t provide the core need. I think what folks are realizing is there is much to this Covid era that is simply “out of stock.” Some areas may be more in touch with this than others. And it goes deeper than TP, PPE, Internet capabilities, & cleaning supplies. How can folks stand to face the lack and still thrive? Not simply stockpile learning, distractions, & tools to navigate (which is helpful) but to know what to do when they run out. To know what is needed for a soul to endure anything...alone and together.

I’ve been reading 2 Corinthians 1. What strikes me most is comfort wasn’t housed in warehouses strained by a supply chain or lab. It wasn’t in a building at all. Facing need is facing being out of stock. And Paul felt that frustration & pain too in all its pressure, depth & nuance. So how did Paul supply anything when he himself was overwhelmed? He let his heart be comforted by God of All in that place of “beyond his ability to endure.” If he was still running his own offense from his Pharisees days, he would have cratered. “Pull yourself up by bootstraps” or “save face” does not work longterm (or really in the short term either because of the faulty foundation it seals). So what does he do?

Paul is honest. He didn’t shy away from talking about his limits & struggles with being overwhelmed. He never graduated beyond dependence. He had to rely on God to supply life even in death. Comfort is inextricably woven in suffering if we know Christ. It happens at all levels. So how did Paul give comfort when he was “out of stock”? Relationship. He shared, asked for prayer, and modeled what it looks like to rely on God alone even together. His intimacy with Christ was the flowing gift to others. It wasn’t a chapter in a book. It was trust displayed in the struggle. He kept it simple. He drew strength and comfort from God in overwhelmed places....So those he called brothers and sisters could have that same Hope & comfort. In doing that, he transmitted to them the ability to patiently endure suffering by relying on God to comfort us all. We aren’t very patient. But God’s comfort to a frayed soul can make us able to patiently endure suffering, struggle, uncertainties of all kinds.

Our brains are exhaustible. Our talents are exhaustible. Our work is exhaustible. Our relationships are exhaustible. Our timing is exhaustible. But Jesus is inexhaustible. He is not out of stock. He is not depleted. He doesn’t require a mask. He doesn’t flee the overwhelmed. He is right in the midst as only He can be. Present to comfort. Present to supply. Present to lead to hope in Him. And raise us back to life.

I love how Easter is smack in the middle of all this. It’s more than a story. He’s the God of all comfort as much today as then. Maybe this era is preparing our hearts better to know the beauty of Easter. Maybe it teaches how much He showed His Word in that moment.