Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for You are close beside me. Your rod and Your staff protect and comfort me.
(Psalm 23:4 NLT)
Never in my life could I have imagined what has come to fruition. It’s something I’ve seen in movies, read in books, but never lived out. Unprecedented. That’s what was, is, and continues to be said! UNPRECEDENTED! Just in case it wasn’t understood the first time! Life as I knew it has changed. Everything is different. Across the communities. Across the cities. Across the states. Across the seas.
The resurrection doesn’t seem resurrected!
Humanity has been cast into a sci-fi movie. We’ve been invaded by an invisible enemy. Whereabouts unknown. Hiding places yet to be discovered. Revealed only when coughing, chilled with fever, a tiredness yearning for the comforts of your bed, and your chest struggling to take your next breath. Everywhere we turn there’s the mourning of losing a love one to this sniper. Not being able to gather and together lay to rest the loss is daunting. Isolation is in command. What is this? What are you? The unforeseen clamors for my very existence.
Then! Suddenly! BAM!!! SOCIAL DISTANCING!!! What is that?! How do we achieve that?! Forced to navigate through uncharted territories. Mitigation. An unfamiliar concept. Our lives are entwined. Even introverts long to be connected on some level. Human separation has been involuntarily imposed into our mental construct. The algorithms we’ve possessed has been recalculated to accommodate the needs required by governing agencies that have demanded us all to comply with.
When they arrived, they went to the upstairs room of the house where they were staying.
(Acts 1:13 NLT)
Adapting to change often is a difficult process. But this, it’s inconceivable!! No longer able to work. No longer permitted to shop. No longer attending schools. No longer meeting with families. One after another, small and large businesses alike, closed. Educational institutions, from elementary to universities, closed. Retail stores and malls closed. Only essential services are open to meet what sustains us; food, needed medical care only, daycares (for essential workers only), construction, electricians, plumbers, and other agencies providing a means of support to homes, public buildings, transportation, mail carriers, and outdoor repairs. And where most believers of Christ gathered, closed!!
It’s an unimaginable thought to not attend church services weekly especially during life changing events, Easter Sunday. Or as I prefer to recognize it, Resurrection Day. Believers all over the globe come together in unity to praise the One who graciously offered us the opportunity to be freed from the bondage we’ve integrated into our identities. Even lukewarm and some nonbelievers attended church at least twice a year. Easter and Christmas.
Early believers didn’t gather in a church building. There weren’t designated buildings that were built to offer services. Instead, they gathered in homes. When Jesus ascended to be with the Father, He left them to unite as the church. Believing and adhering to the Ministry of Jesus established the church in their hearts.
Current day has brought us back to the times of old. No church building to gather in. But amid these new beginnings, God through technology allows us to gather virtually. We’re able to meet and unite as the Body of Christ. Teaching. Serving. Praying. Together as one. This enemy doesn’t have the power to keep us apart. Praise God!! The Word tell us that where there are two or more gathered in His name, there He is (Matthew 18:20).
I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.
(Romans 15:13 NLT)
During these traumatic seasons, hope escapes us. A concept that is amazing yet elusive. One minute it’s within you and in the next moment, it’s gone. It has abandoned you. Leaving no trace of its very existence. We ponder where has it fled to? Is it within us? Its absence is marked by the vanishing faith we desperately held onto. It’s the four-letter word offering possibilities. It’s our dreams. It’s our goals. It’s our achievements. It’s our future. It speaks life into every facet of our existence.
We must ask ourselves what we may often deny. Where does our hope come from? My trials have taught me that “Hope” isn’t birthed in my own strength. There isn’t anything I can achieve independent from the Source of Life, Jesus Christ! His resurrection is what empowers me to achieve what I have today. I survived the threat of suicide, depression, and anxiety. That’s paramount for me! He showed me that my strives for success were fruitless, for my power is limited. In addition, the strengths I do possess is given to me by God alone!
So God has given both His promise and His oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to Him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.
(Hebrews 6:18-19 NLT)
Countless times I manipulated situations to achieve a desired outcome. If I do this, I’ll have that! Time and time again it yielded the exact opposite of what I longed for. I’d hit a brick road after each attempt. Always ended with disappointment, tears, and regret.
I knew of God. I knew of Jesus. I knew of the Holy Spirit. But I didn’t know how to know them.
Daily I started seeking them. Reading the Word. Listening to the Word. Watching the Word. The enemy on one side and Jesus on the other telling me He already had the victory on the Cross over 2000 years ago.
He became my anchor. I was intentional about getting to know who this God is. The one who was willing to be crucified and resurrected for someone like me. Someone He left the 99 for to bring me to Him. The Word reiterated that He’s our refuge. Unchangeable. Faithful. Trustworthy. Not like any human for we are flawed. But He’s perfect in all His ways. As these words seeped into my heart, transformation began. I realized that I never had control of anything. He is always in control.
I needed to choose. I chose Jesus!
“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
(Isaiah 55:8-9 NLT)
I placed my confidence in Him. The One who holds it all in His hands. As time passed, and I was becoming grounded in His Word, I started to trust Him implicitly. I understood that only He knew the answers and only He would reveal them at its appointed time. There wasn’t any point worrying about things I’m not meant to worry about.
I know this has been the most difficult season the globe has simultaneously experienced. So many fears, doubts, uncertainties, and losses has affected every household in one way or another. Some homes have experienced multiple blows. It’s difficult to pray. It’s difficult to grasp hope. It’s difficult to plan a future.
But I must hold onto the One who holds it all! I’m not called to understand. I was never promised a life without suffering. I must believe that when tragedy strikes, He grieves with me. His love is never ending. He’s with me till the end. I’m never alone even when I feel lonely. He’s always by my side.
I don’t know what tomorrow will look like. I’m not going to guess the possibilities. But I do believe that I trust the One who does know. I know that there will be good coming out of this. I know that there will be a resurrection of things we never thought possible. Yes! Life will be different. But I must believe amid the losses, life can be beautifully different when we invite Him into our hearts. There’s hope in His resurrection! May we stay united in the church as we use technology to commune. We don’t need a building to house us together. All we need is one body and one heart for Jesus Christ!
Has your heart been resurrected to be aligned with His?
Dear Lord Jesus, I can’t thank You enough for the sacrifice you’ve made for us. A people who sinned against You and yet, You wouldn’t have done it any other way. Your resurrection is our sure hope that futures are blessed with unforeseen possibilities. May this season of loss help us have eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to receive You. Your faithful and true. You’re our anchor that keeps us from drifting away. May we be tethered to you all the days of our lives. You’re our constant. Our confidence is in You alone.
It is in Your Son’s Name Jesus Christ we pray. Song: Hallelujah For The Cross
Amen.
God bless you and yours.
I love you.
In His Grip,