Psalm 139:7-10
Where can I go
from your Spirit?
Where can I
flee from your presence?
If I go up to
the heavens, you are there;
if I make my
bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on
the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on
the far side of the sea,
even there your
hand will guide me,
your right hand
will hold me fast.
For
many people social distancing is wearing then, very thin. Just this morning I
saw a news article about another protest calling for the government to open up
the country and allow people to get back to normal. Unfortunately, normal has
changed. Social distancing has had a positive effect on the spread of the
virus, but a negative effect on the economy. Yesterday oil actually went below
zero. Refiners are paying suppliers to take their stockpile off of their hands.
I read another article that talked about ten major companies that will probably
not survive the economic shut down. That doesn’t even touch on the multitude of
small businesses that will close. We are experiencing a very difficult time.
Most
people are doing their best to cope with the demands of social distancing. Yet,
we are all feeling the strain. We will all be impacted by the larger issues
involved. The way we used to interact with one another has changed, and every
indication is that those changes will continue on into the foreseeable future.
Even
as we feel isolated and disconnected from our friends and families, we can also
begin to feel disconnected from God. I have always marveled at an almost
universal bent toward blaming God for bad things that happen, regardless of a
person’s belief or lack of belief in God. Whenever a major crisis like this
happens, God becomes the culprit. Satan loves to throw God under the bus.
The
good news is that even though we are experiencing social distancing, we don’t
have to experience spiritual distancing. In fact, it is as when times are
difficult that many people seek God more diligently. In Psalm 139, David
reminds us that there is nowhere that we can go where God is not present. Paul
reminds us in Romans 8 that there is nothing that can separate us from the love
of God, and that includes Covid-19 and social distancing.
This
morning, my devotional guide led me to Psalm 121. It is another reminder that
God is not distant from us, even when we don’t feel His presence.
Psalm 121:1-8
I lift up my
eyes to the hills--
where does my
help come from?
My help comes
from the Lord,
the Maker of
heaven and earth.
He will not let
your foot slip--
he who watches
over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who
watches over Israel
will neither
slumber nor sleep.
The Lord
watches over you--
the Lord is
your shade at your right hand;
the sun will
not harm you by day,
nor the moon by
night.
The Lord will
keep you from all harm--
he will watch
over your life;
the Lord will
watch over your coming and going
both now and
forevermore.
This
Psalm reminds us that during difficult times we are not alone. It gives us a
strategy for staying connected to God, even as we feel disconnected from
others.
During
difficult times, look to God for your strength. Times like this remind of
really how weak and vulnerable we are. Over the past century, we have bought
into the idea that we are the masters of our world. We are in control of our
lives. Yet a small, microscopic virus can shut down the world in a heartbeat. Where
do we turn when our vulnerability is exposed? The best place to turn is to the
one who created this world. As believers in Christ, now more than ever, we need
to fix our eyes on Jesus. He is our help and strength.
During
difficult times, trust that God is still with us. God is not passive during the
crisis. God is not distant either. He continues to watch over us. When Paul was
faced with his “thorn in the flesh” he turned to God for relief. What he
discovered is that God’s grace is more then sufficient to overcome his
weakness. God’s grace still is. We all want this virus to just go away, but God
has a different plan. His primary goal is not to take away our suffering, but
to draw us closer to Himself.
During
difficult times, trust that God is seeking what is best for you. We don’t always
know what is best for us. Sometimes the thing that we think is best, upon
closer examination, turns out to be negative. Part of human nature is to tell
God what should happen and to expect Him to do things the way we think they
should be done. When the Psalmist promises that God will keep you from all
harm, he is not referring to physical harm. He is referring to ultimate harm,
spiritual harm. God cares most about your soul. Our physical lives on earth,
although important, are temporary. Our soul is eternal. God often uses
difficult times to strip away the superficial and temporary to help us see the
truly significant and eternal.
Social
distancing does not have to result in spiritual distancing. Instead, let us
allow God to use this “thorn in the flesh” to draw us closer to Himself.
2 Corinthians
12:8-10
Three times I
pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My
grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."
Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that
Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in
weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For
when I am weak, then I am strong.
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