The world is angry and in turmoil. The recent pandemic forced people into isolation, causing global disruption, pain and suffering, and it will be a while before we fully recover. Is this part of God’s plan? Was the pandemic a time to lay low, listen, grow and wait?
Listening and discerning is our first action step in times of disruption.
What is God’s plan, and how does it fit into scripture and the whispers of the Holy Spirit in our hearts? Listening and discerning should always be the first directional choice we make, and we can only choose that direction when we are fully engaged with God wholeheartedly.
There are two interesting verses to ponder that the prophet Isaiah wrote in the Bible when God was on the move. He commanded the Jews to lay low. “Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until His wrath has passed by. See, the LORD is coming out of his dwelling to punish the people of the earth for their sins. The earth will disclose the bloodshed on it; the earth will conceal its slain no longer.” Isaiah 26:20-21 NIV.
The Message translation says it this way, “Come, my people, go home and shut yourselves in. Go into seclusion for a while until the punishing wrath is past, Because God is sure to come from his place to punish the wrong of the people on earth. Earth itself will point out the bloodstains; it will show where the murdered have been hidden away.”
“To everything, there is a season a time to every purpose.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1)
Was this time of global shutdowns a time to separate ourselves and acknowledge we are believers who trust in God’s eternal plan and live not in fear? That we think and believe differently? That we trust a higher authority? As the pandemic continues and new variants immerge and we are threatened with more masking, fear and continued uncertainty, is this our time to exhibit peace and long-suffering as followers of Jesus? Is this a time for the world to grasp fully the enormity of the evil and darkness and the “bloodstains” it has continued to allow? The culture has stood by and allowed thousands of babies to be aborted, Christ-followers to be tortured and killed, women and children to be trafficked, and many other sinful and evil atrocities have been allowed and plague our world. There is spiritual warfare happening, and God is on the move. Is this the time to be locked into our prayer closets and immersed in God’s Word, fasting and praying for God’s will to be done on earth? Is this the time to stop acting like the world and start being a Christian that takes on the whole armor of God?
God calls us to be in the world, not of the world.
Stand upon the Word and God’s eternal promises. There are over four thousand of them in the Bible, and they were promised to us by God for our certainty in times of uncertainty. His promises will guide our provision, safety, care, and assurance to overcome any challenge thrown at us. God hasn’t left the house. He is our house. Build your foundation on the Rock that won’t be moved and not on the shifting sands of the world. “He has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity but of power, love and self-control. (II Timothy 1:7) It means to keep your wits about you, keep it together, chill out and lay low at least “for a bit.”
The world is watching the lovers of God. Are you watching Him?
