It has been 15 days since I started working from home and/or shelter in place, and I’ve had the time to watch the news and have discovered that too much information can cause anxiety. This time of isolation has allowed me time for reflection and while viewing various platforms I’ve seen how other people are dealing at this time. This pass Sunday, I logged on to the internet to watch Home Church Online for three different churches and although the focal scripture verses were different, the take away from each were very similar.
God’s word helps us to walk through isolation and reveals that:
1. God’s love for us is perfect – 1 John 4:18 New International Version (NIV) – 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
2. Jesus walks on the things that scare us – Matthew 14: 25-27- 25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said and cried out in fear. 27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
3. God wants us to maintain or recover our rhythm – Isaiah 40: 31But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. (NKJV)
Of course, there were many nuggets to gleam, from what I heard during online Church, but these three stand out and they allow me to see there is a lot to be learned in isolation. As we take this time away from the hustle and bustle of commuting, constant telephone calls, and visitors, we have to take advantage of the moments of silence so that we can clearly hear the voice of God. We have to pray with our eyes on Jesus and not on our circumstances, knowing that the presence of a storm doesn’t mean an absence of God, He is with us as we move from isolation to revelation.
