Rest In God

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.  If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!” John 14:6-‬7 NLT

During the current COVID-19 pandemic, we are all encouraged to stay at home so that we can slow down the spread of the virus. The lock-downs and social distancing measures are proving to be more stressful than the viral infection. In addition, the “viruses” of misinformation and disinformation in the social media compounds the confusion and division in the community. These are but the birth pangs of a new era in human history. Jesus is the Way to lead us out of the pandemic. He is the Truth to help us discern false teachings and lies. He is the Life to set us free from the fear of death.

We need to shift our focus from the fear of COVID-19 to the peace of God. Fear, not the COVID-19 virus, is the real problem. In the storm of the pandemic, we need the peace of God to guard our minds and the God of peace to guide our hearts. Peace is not the absence of storms but is found in the eye of the storm which Jesus demonstrated when the disciples found him sleeping in the storm:

“Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?” Mark 4:38 NLT

The COVID-19 pandemic is a wake up call to turn back to God in speechless wonder – to see and understand the mystery of how God is redeeming our fallen world through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and transforming us into new creations in Christ.  The good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ is that we can live in the reality of God as our Heavenly Father. We may have a sense of awe of God as the Creator when we are touched by the wonder of a beautiful sunset or sunrise or a magnificent rainbow. 

However, it is only when we are in Christ and Christ is in us that we can know and love God as our Heavenly Father. When the Holy Spirit pours God’s love into our hearts, we have the blessed assurance that God is our Heavenly Father. Then we will use our lives to know and love Him more and more. The pandemic is a time for us to shine as lights in our dark world by living out our faith in Jesus Christ:

“And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.” Colossians 2:6-‬7 NLT

In the pandemic, we have learned the importance of cultivating habits like hand washing and the wearing of masks. Likewise we need to practice the habit of resting in God to grow in our relationship with our Heavenly Father. This is the blessing hidden in the COVID-19 virus! The practice of spiritual habits is not to get God to protect or deliver us from the COVID-19 virus but to deepen our roots in the love of God through a personal relationship with the risen Christ. We can rest in God daily through the habit of BOW as we:

Bring all our cares to Christ. We humbly cast our cares on Christ for He cares for us. As we do so, we will remember that God is God and we are not:

“Remember that God is strong and powerful. So be humble in front of him. Then he will lift you up to a good place at the right time. If you have any kind of trouble in your mind, give it to God. God has promised to take care of you.” 1 Peter 5:6-‬7 EASY

Offer our thoughts to Christ without shame or judgment in silent meditation for we have died to sin. We may be buffeted by sins or tempted by self-righteousness.  However, the righteousness of Christ keeps us from burning with shame as the fire of love purifies our thoughts and the mind of Christ is formed in us:

“Of course we are human, but we don’t fight like humans. The weapons we use in our fight are not made by humans. Rather, they are powerful weapons from God. With them we destroy people’s defenses, that is, their arguments and all their intellectual arrogance that oppose the knowledge of God. We take every thought captive so that it is obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:3-‬5 GW

Walk in the light of Christ each day by surrendering our will to God as a living sacrifice. The COVID-19 pandemic is to open our eyes to the idolatry of our hearts when we see life only from the human perspective. We seek to be in control instead of seeing life from God’s perspective and resting in the truth that God is in control:

“Nations decide what they want to do, but the Lord stops them. Whatever those people decide, he causes it to become useless. But whatever the Lord decides to do will always happen. His thoughts will not change from one century to the next.” Psalms 33:10-‬11 EASY

The pandemic provides us with the wonderful opportunity to rest in God – a time for our heart to be circumcised so that we can truly love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul in order that we may truly live (Deuteronomy 30:60). It is a time to stand amazed before the cross of Christ:

“Thank You for the cross
The mighty cross
That God Himself should die
For such as us
And everyday we’re changed
Into Your image
More and more
Yes by the cross
We’ve truly been transformed”

 SDG