Seeking God Amidst
Covid-19 … Part 1
At the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak and the “Stay at
home” mandate, I made a practice of reading Psalm 91 each day in a variety of
translations and paraphrases. . There were days that I prayed this Psalm; there were days when I would loosely
quote it with the help of my Scripture memory app. I still turn to it to
remind myself that God is the source of my protection. I also follow the
suggestions of the health community as best I understand and am able to do so.
In recent days, I have found myself meditating on the names
of God, because they are rich with assurance and comfort. Today, I’ll share several with you that have
special meaning to me.
Adonai-Jehovah is defined by
some as “The Lord our Sovereign.” Too often we shy away from thinking about the Sovereignty of God. To
many people it speaks of control or being at the whim of a capricious ruler. However, our God is not capricious; he remains
unchanging as do His promises. Sovereign
also denotes kingship or one who rules. God rules in the lives of His people,
and God rules in the events that touch their lives. We are living in times that
engender fear and uncertainty, often
fueled by the media, popular opinions, conspiracy theories, and our own
tendencies to cave under uncertainty. In
the midst of the COVID-19 situation, others have faced situations that are only
compounded by this unprecedented crisis. Yet, we are in the hands of Adonai-Jehovah,
who sees and superintends the events raging
around us. One day, he will say –“This far, but no farther.” Until then, he bids us trust His heart,
knowing that it ever guides His hand.
El-Roi is defined as the “God who sees.”
Nothing escapes Him. When I was a child,
I learned and sang the song, “Oh be careful little eyes what you see … For the
Father up above is looking down in love…” We went on to sing about our ears,
our tongue, our hands, and our feet as the conclusion of the song reminded me
that God was watching. To be honest, the song really creeped me out. I imagined
God as a celestial spy waiting for me to mess up so that He could squash
me. I totally missed the concept that He was watching me “in love.” God still watches us in love. Yes, he is
weighing our actions, words, and attitudes, but more importantly, He is
watching with eyes of care. We need not worry, because God is patrolling the
events that touch our lives; He is our garrison from harm. Somethings may hurt
us temporarily, but for those who belong to Him through faith in Jesus, nothing
can eternally harm them. The God who sees, will measure carefully the events,
good and bad that touch the lives of His children. They are never beyond the scope of His
watchful care.
Jehovah-Mekaddishkem is defined in Exodus 31:13 as “the LORD
who sanctifies.” The idea conveyed by the word
“sanctify” is that of being set apart for use by God. It is also tied to
concept of being made more like Jesus. Note that it is His work, and not ours.
The immediate context of this name is the
instruction of God related to Sabbaths – a time when the Israelites ceased from
their work and rested in God’s presence. These current circumstances of isolation may
well be an instrument that God is using to teach us to rest and to allow Him to
work in our lives. This sanctifying work
of God may lead us through deep waters, through circumstances that are less
than desirable, through circumstances that are painful, and through
circumstances that may provoke fear. Yet, in all of these vicissitudes of life,
He is working to make the positional righteousness that is ours through Christ
more evident to a watching world. The promise of Romans 8:28 is expounded upon in
Romans 8:29 – the good through which God is working in our lives is that of
being conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus. Is there any greater good in
which we can put our hope?