This is Be still and Know on this very sad day. Let’s hear from the Bible together.
Isaiah 6:1
"It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple."
The death of King Uzziah after 52 years as King of Judah was a decisive moment in Isaiah’s life. Suddenly everything changed. For all of us the death of Queen Elizabeth is a defining moment. For the past seventy years she has faithfully served our nation and whether or not we would claim to be royalists we would surely all acknowledge that she has lived a remarkable life and been a great blessing. She has graciously and wisely fulfilled her duties and offered to the nation a wonderful example of Christian leadership. I am sure we will always remember exactly where we were when we heard the news of her death. Life won’t be quite the same again.
We can’t know exactly how Isaiah felt when he heard the news of Uzziah’s death, but we do know that he went to the Temple and there he met with the Lord. His encounter with God gave a completely new direction to his life. He was commissioned to speak on God’s behalf to a bewildered people.
In a moment of sadness and loss there is nothing better that any of us can do than to seek the Lord. In seeing the Lord in all his glory, holiness and power Isaiah saw his own life in a new perspective. Everything looked different. I urge you today, amidst the strangeness and shock of the news, to do as Isaiah did and to deliberately turn to the Lord. Find space today to be quiet and to hold your life afresh before God. And as you do so and as you discover his peace you may well find, as Isaiah did, that God will speak with you. 
This is a sad day for us all, but our hearts must go out especially to the Royal Family. They may be on a pedestal and have bright lights shining on them, but they are still a family and the shock will be far greater for them than for any of us. Let us pray that they too may know God’s peace and living presence.
Prayer: Let me pray with you – Lord God our Father, please meet with us in our sadness and grant us your peace. We pray especially for the Royal Family and our new King and ask that they may meet with you and find you to be their peace and strength. For our nation as it adjusts to the news, and for the Commonwealth, grant us the knowledge of your presence with us this day. Lord hear our prayers which we bring in the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Released on 9 Sep 2022