By Don Zoller
Whatever you may think about our current situation, there is one undeniable fact that emerges. Most of us are confined to a much smaller world! Many, who are accustomed to be up and about with personal agendas full of things to do and people to see, are now constrained by circumstance into another place. A place of quietness and stillness. I just wonder if this isn’t by design—God’s design to get our attention. To capture our minds in this unique and confining place of life to: “Be still and know that I Am God.”
Yes, I know that we may be tempted to spend more time on Facebook or in front of the TV, but I wonder if that is what God has in mind for us. Is this not the time, such a time as this, that Jesus calls us to Himself, to be quiet and venture into the deeper things of our relationship with Him, to discover once again (perhaps for the first time) His pure and undisturbed love for us, and our love for Him renewed?
To help us to enjoy our extended time of quietness, I am offering a song of worship sung by Huw Priday, a Welsh opera singer, singing as only the Welsh can sing: Healer of My Heart. Ponder deeply the words. Worship Him who loves us and will always do what is best for us.
Uncertain Days
It started several weeks ago—before then, things were pretty normal and routine. The country seemed to be prospering and people were going about their daily lives. They freely socialized—going here and there, attending sports events, having parties and celebrating holidays.
But then, all that changed. Activities were restricted and people’s attention focused on what was happening. Some said it was some sort of judgment upon the way we were living. Others were not convinced. They said that it was a natural phenomenon which, although bad, was something that could be explained and would soon past. Over time, whatever this was became more and more intense. It was unsettling for a lot of people. Society and the economy were slowing down—showing signs of stress. Answers were few. Concerns and fears increased. These were uncertain days!
Then the day came, a couple of days ago, when we got word that everyone in our community was to “shelter-in-place” in our homes. Doors were shut with everyone inside. This thing had grown with such intensity that everyone would soon be exposed to it—well, almost everyone!
To be safe, we were told to kill a lamb and sprinkle its blood on the doorposts and above the doorway. We were told that when God saw the blood He would pass over the house and those inside would be protected from the certainty of death of every firstborn, man and beast. Most of the people in my community did what we were told. However, some were not entirely sure it would work.
Scared, we huddled together around the dinner table. We were told not to prepare for a relaxing evening at home, but rather, be watchful and be prepared to go—to leave Egypt, to leave slavery. The night was quiet and still. Then out of the darkness, along about midnight, we began to hear yelling and wailing, particularly in the direction where the Egyptians lived. We stared at each other in fear, but soon realize we were all safe, just as we had been told.
We waited out the long night, with only a few words spoken, until the early light of a new day began to dawn. Someone pounded on our door and cried out, “We are free, free at last.” It was time to go! Time to leave Egypt and the bondage of 400 years of captivity, and experience the glorious freedom of the Lord’s salvation.
The certainty of Uncertain Days is that God is in control. He knows perfectly what He is doing and what He is doing is always best for us. Although things may seem to be coming apart around us, our response to Uncertain Days is Trust. Trusting Him through the plague, through the darkness of the night, through the valley of the shadow of death. Actively and intentionally trusting Him who controls everything and to which everything, even our present 2020 pandemic, is subject to His sovereignty and love for His own. He is in control. “Trust Me. Don’t be afraid!”
For your meditation and blessing during Holy Week, please read Exodus 12.
For your encouragement, read Habakkuk 3:16–19
The One who cares for us knows what is best for us.
“Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you;
hide yourselves for a little while until the fury has passed by.” Isaiah 26:20
Blessings and Shalom
Don Zoller
Don has recently joined the family at Trinity and is active in the 50+ Bible Study. He enjoys writing and has authored several books that provide spiritual encouragement and biblical insights. His son and daughter-in-law, Graham and Susan, are also members at Trinity.
