I remember the very first Sunday we sang "Way Maker" at the Walk last semester. The room was electric, hands were raised all over the place, everyone was basically shouting the lyrics. We sang like we truly believed what we were singing.
But did we?
The truth is, none of us knew what was going to come in just a few months. We had no idea of the worldwide pandemic coming, of the panic, of the sickness, of the empty grocery stores, of the online classes, of the quarantine, of the death. But we sang like even if something like this did happen, we would trust our way making, miracle working, light in the darkness God.
It is easy to sing praises when life is going great, but what I want to ask you in this post is how is your worship looking now that you have nowhere to go, nothing to do, no one to hang out with?Your entire life has been uprooted. How is your joy looking? How is your peace looking? How is your contentment looking?
We are living in a time right now where we get to see up close and personal how deep our faith really is. Do we trust God to handle this virus? Do we trust God to not only handle it but to give us the strength we need to keep going?
Fact of the matter is, God is the same way Maker, miracle Worker, Light in the darkness now that we are actually in the darkness just as He was months ago when Way Maker hit our church worship set lists. He is the same. He is still working. Remember, we declared that He would NEVER stop working, and now, we must dig deep and believe that, believe it more than we ever did before.
Last night, I was having my quiet time with the Lord, and He led me to 1 Kings 19. To recap chapter 18 for you, Elijah, a great man of God, a prophet, had just called down fire from Heaven, and it happened! If you witnessed a miracle like this, you'd think (or at least you'd like to think) that your faith would be so strong it could never be shaken again.
Well, to pick up in chapter 19, Jezebel, not the nicest gal in the world putting it lightly, has sent
word that she is going to have Elijah killed. Wow. This just got real.
How does Elijah respond? Remember, he just witnessed God show up in an incredible way.
He responds in fear.
He runs away.
He runs like a mad man.
Elijah is so scared that he tells God he just wants to die.
SIDE NOTE: let's not be so quick to cast judgment on Elijah. How many of us have responded to COVID-19 in fear just like Elijah? We may not have seen fire fall from Heaven, but we have seen the move of God. We have seen Him heal sickness, save souls, put broken relationships back together, provide in unimaginable ways.
Through all of this chaos, you may not have ran to the wilderness like Elijah, but maybe, you ran to the grocery store and bought all of the toilet paper.
I'll be the first to admit there have been certain times during all of this where I responded in fear, but just as you are about to see what He did for Elijah, God did for me. He spoke peace over me.
God sends an angel to tend to Elijah's needs, and after forty days and forty nights, God speaks.
Now it may not be in a way that you expect. The Bible says that there was a wind so strong that it broke the rocks in pieces, then there was an earthquake, and then there was a fire. A FIRE? Hello, God had just one chapter beforehand sent fire down from Heaven, so He had to be in the fire, right?
Wrong.
God was not in the great wind, nor was He in the earthquake, nor was He in the fire. Verse 12 says that there was "a still, small voice." This is how God spoke to Elijah. In a big moment, a crisis, I mean Elijah's entire life was at stake, God didn't show up in the "big" stuff. He whispered to Elijah.
What I think we can learn from this story is that 1. Sometimes we have to wait for a word from the Lord.
Elijah had to wait forty days and forty nights for that still, small voice.
2. We cannot get so caught up in the "big" stuff that we miss God's hand in the "small" stuff.
COVID-19 is big, clearly. It is seemingly shutting down the entire world. And I think God has something to teach us through it (I don't know what, but I know He is a God of purpose). However, I also think He wants to teach us in these still, quiet moments in our homes. He has a purpose for us to be home right now. A lot of people were praying for revival coming into this new decade, and maybe, God can take this awful situation and make revival out of it as His people have more time than ever to dig deeper in His Word and grow closer to Him.
At the beginning of this year, I felt God was speaking two words to my heart: obedience and humility. As I sought out the purpose for this, the Lord kept bringing me back to Lamentations 3:24.
"The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in Him."
I felt that the Lord was telling me to let Him be enough for me. To obey Him and not bow to idols. To humble myself before Him everyday and admit He is all I need.
Little did I know just how much my soul was going to need that reminder come March.
Over the last few months as God continued to put this verse on my heart, I have found it so fitting during my time in quarantine. I don't have my friends with me anymore, I can't go anywhere (this girl is missing Chickfila, can I get an amen), I don't have my classes at least in the way that I am used to. Y'all, we have lost essentially everything. Except we haven't really.
We have not lost the presence and promises of God.
This is a time where we can seek the face of God like we never have before. This is a time where we can fall on our faces and find our joy in HIM alone. Not Him + sports, Him + school, Him + concerts, Him + friends, Him + our jobs. Just Him.
Ultimately, He is our portion, and when we are walking in that truth, we can find peace. You don't need something else in your life to find joy, and in reality, nothing else can provide it. Only Jesus can, and brothers and sisters, we are in such a unique time in history where God is allowing us to worship Him without distraction. So, instead of moping and watching eight hours of Netflix, let's intentionally spend time in prayer and the Word of God and believe that He is making a way, working a miracle, being the light in the darkness right now. Because He is.
I said it in my last post, and I will say it again, Jesus is BIGGER than COVID-19. He's bigger, and He is going to get us through this. We will be okay, we will be more than okay, because the Great I AM, Yahweh, Jesus is fighting our battles right now.
So, go blast Way Maker throughout your house, and believe the powerful words you're singing. It is who He is.
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