A Friend Named Suzette

I have a friend named Suzette and God gave her to me when I didn’t even really know I needed her.  In all of my Bible study, I forget sometimes that it can actually equip me for the day-to-day.  

Suzette is my antidote.  She spends a great deal of time reading and writing devotionals and will sometimes share them with me.  Thank God that as I was driving to Reno to visit with my daughter – the morning after the malaise they called a Presidential debate – Suzette called me as if on que.

Like others, I seem to be counting on my fingers these days the number of low-level stresses that are simmering just below our collective surfaces.  Covid, violence, racism, elections, and fires, all of which invite fear, financial insecurity, rage, feelings of isolation, and hopelessness.  When is it gonna end?

Three Passages

Well, Suzette had not one but three passages to share.  She was so excited and blissfully unaware how badly I needed to hear them.  She started with, of all places, Revelation 1:5 – and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth.  What a great nugget! The ruler of the kings of the earth.  Elections aren’t settled by bad debates, they are settled by Jesus Christ, and we can trust that.  Okay, Suzette, you have my attention.

She went next to Psalm 120, all seven verses.  I won’t repeat it all here, you can read it yourself. But it is a delightful essay on deceitful tongues, makers of war, and lovers of peace.

She ended with 1 Corinthians 13 – our beloved “love” chapter.  I know she zeroed in on a few verses, but as I re-read it this morning while writing this blog, I see that it all applies.  If we forget that there is an Almighty God in heaven and if we forget that He is not surprised by anything going on in the world today, then we will not love first.  And if we don’t remember to love, it’s all just noise.

Thanks, Suzette.  I really do feel better.  Do you have a Suzette in your life?  Tell me about him or her at Lifting Her Voice, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.