What's on the other side of this mountain I'm climbing?
I have tried to be an "obedient servant" however, there are times when I don't really understand what I am supposed to be doing, and "where am I going?" Or why? Over the years I have heard the same question many times over. "Why do you think this is happening to me? Is God punishing me?" Probably not, but there are times I've wondered that very same thing. During this Coronavirus I've wondered about the people who have succumbed to COVID19. Or the people who have been out of work. Including the people who are telling me they don't have a "job" to go back to. No wonder people are on edge, or angry with each other.
Now that we are slowly going "back" to jobs, our lives are still not "normal" yet. I'm wondering what our "new normal" will look like? Will we be able to go back to church and sit in our same seat beside people we know and love? Can we go to a movie and sit in the same row with our girlfriends? What will eating in a restaurant look like? My guess is, we are not going to know until it happens. I thought about calling my dog groomer to see if she would cut my hair, since hair and nail salons are still not open!
Scripture tells me to be patient. Seriously? I think two months is adequate. When I started thinking about how long it's been since I was able to sit face to face with a girlfriend over lunch. How long has it been since we could hug each other hello or good-bye? Go to the grocery store without a mask? Or keep a doctors appointment by waiting outside in my own car, waiting for them to come get me. And they approach the car looking like Darth Vader. If I've accomplished nothing else these past few months, I am learning to wait. My grandmother used to say patience is a virtue. I apparently wasn't born with that gene. Psalm 27:14, Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord (NIV).
I can't imagine how Abraham processed God's command to; "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about" (Genesis 22:2, NIV). I'm wondering if Abraham had doubts, if he had questions? Why is this happening to me? Is God punishing me? When Abraham and Isaac were climbing the mountain, Isaac asked his father "where is the lamb for the burnt offering" (Genesis 22:7, NIV)? And his father Abraham replied, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering my son" (Genesis 22:8, NIV). I'm wondering what thoughts were in Abraham's head. Even though Abraham continued to build the alter, place the wood on that alter, and place his son on top. Now while all of that was going on, on the other side of the mountain, a ram was making its way to the top. Abraham demonstrated great faith, and obedience. I don't think I could do that, knowing the love I have for my children.
So my thoughts for today are that, I want the kind of faith Abraham displayed. He "took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven...Do not lay a hand on the boy" (Genesis 22:10-12, NIV). I want to be an obedient servant, just as Abraham was.
Sometimes I forget, during this "shelter-in-place" and social distancing, is the sacrificial lamb on the other side of this mountain I'm climbing? Yes, I think it is. And the still small voice inside my head is whispering to me, "just be patient, and wait for Me."
It may take a while, perhaps a year or even two, before everything will seem, "normal," again. But if we compare what happened during the episode of the Spanish flu, killing a much larger proportion of those infected. It took only a couple of years before the very prosperous Roaring 20s. And, as for economic impact, the Great Depression had people struggling for over a decade.
I think it is impatient to think of patience after only two months of vigorous government and individual attempts to help us help ourselves. We are learning how to deal with crisis better, understanding that we must change some of our behavior to live better, and realize that many of our wishful marginal businesses are not really necessary or even profitable.
Finally! Understand and learn from the New Testament Book of James.
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I have tried to be an "obedient servant" however, there are times when I don't really understand what I am supposed to be doing, and "where am I going?" Or why? Over the years I have heard the same question many times over. "Why do you think this is happening to me? Is God punishing me?" Probably not, but there are times I've wondered that very same thing. During this Coronavirus I've wondered about the people who have succumbed to COVID19. Or the people who have been out of work. Including the people who are telling me they don't have a "job" to go back to. No wonder people are on edge, or angry with each other.
