Good Morning, welcome to my living room. As you can see I am a plant person. Spring is my favorite season. I can’t wait to get outside and take all these plants outside on my deck and just enjoy the rebirth of nature. In these times it’s when I at least feel the freedom to leave my house without mask and gloves and roam around the yard and look for all the spring blooming flowers and the buds on the ends of the tree branches. For me, I feel that sense of rhythm and normalcy as compared to what we are experiencing in the country right now. The seasons don’t stop because of the virus. The sun will rise and set, the rain will fall and nourish the earth. There is something dependable about the world even in these unpredictable times.
I don’t know about you but that gives me hope that we will survive this time. Now I know there are people that we have lost in our community and even in our own church family, so I don’t want to make light of that fact, but at some point we have to hold on to truth and find a way forward, because we are a people that relies on the word hope.
There are so many expressions that involve the word hope.
Hope against hope – To continue to hope, even when what is hoped for seems unlikely or impossible.
Keep Hope Alive – Even if something seems to become more and more unlikely, do not stop believing in it.
Hope springs eternal – The feeling of hopefulness endlessly renews itself.
Cross my heart and hope to die – Added to a promise or statement to show how serious one was about being honest in what one said.
I hope you’re happy – Said to scold someone who did something wrong, after seeing the consequences.
As you may already know we are a social people. Yes, that even includes you introverts. We need to know that there are people out there for us, even if we need our solitude. So in these times, social distancing is important, but that doesn’t mean we like it or that it’s easy. We struggle with loneliness and isolation and some of the anxiety that comes with that, but the one that we can depend on unequivocally is God. He promises to never leave us of forsake us and to comfort us from all those emotions that invade out hearts and minds.
I don’t know about you, but given the issues with my clients it can go both ways. You could be like me and live alone. It’s me and my cat. Now don’t get me wrong, I have friends and family. I have great neighbors, distanced walks with guys from my small group and even a drive by a wonderful muffin lady. But as you may know I am not an introvert. I get fed by people contact. I’m longing for the day when my church family is all together and we can have face-to-face talks and hugs.
On the other hand, there are families who are hunkered down with spouse and children. From my personal perspective that seems wonderful. But the reality is very different. Parents are struggling with trying to manage distance learning for their kids. Kids are struggling to manage parents that are struggling with distance learning. Then there are those relational issues that can easily be ignored when we are running to and from with our usually overbooked calendar, and now those issues are literally staring us in the face. On top of which is the either working at home issues that are challenging or the fact that you have no job and not sure there will be a job when whatever sense of normal returns to us.
So in either situation there can be worries and concerns that are hard to put to rest. We are dealing with our own worries and anxieties which fall under the category of fear. Fear is a temptation, meaning that it’s okay to have fears, but it’s what we choose to do with those fears that can be a problem.
These fears can be cumulative. You must know that 4 months ago I lost a dear friend in a dramatic way. A large group of you supported me in that process. Then about 2 weeks ago my dear cousin passed away out in Colorado. On top of that, my daughter, a prison psychologist, it continuing to work at a facility in Wisconsin which is not unlike some of the assisted care and skilled facilities that other people are living in. It’s a petri dish with close proximity living quarters. I have a friend that lives in Missouri with his wife. He needed a quadruple heart by-pass surgery and is still in ICU recovering without the benefit of his wife by his side. I could go on, but this is not about me. I’m sure we all have our stories of fear, anxiety and worry that we are experiencing in our life.
So the bigger question is what do we do with all that. How do we manage to cope with our feelings? The obvious answer is to talk to God about what we are feeling and thinking. But for me and maybe some of you that might not be our first reaction. Or at least it wasn’t for me after my friend, Paul, died. I’ll admit to you all I was angry at God. I wanted to know why He let that happen and if so, why had He put us together.
I want to share two stories that I gleaned from our Men’s Saturday morning study. The first was about a dad who took his child to the grocery store. Dad, wanting to be a fun loving dad, chose the grocery cart that had the big car in front of it so the child could ride in it and pretend they were driving it. At first the dad noticed that his child was steering to the left and so the dad moved the cart to the left. Then the child moved to the right and so dad pushed the cart to the right. The child was thrilled. But then the Dad realized that they needed to go a different direction to get the groceries they needed and the child was not happy. The child had the illusion that they were in control, but in fact Dad was in control the whole time. The second illustration was about a child that was in a dark closet in their house and then got locked in and couldn’t get out. The child was pounding on the door and yell for his dad. At first the Dad didn’t hear the child, but eventually he went looking for the child and found him in the closet. The problem was that the Dad couldn’t open the door to the closet even on his side of the door. The child was crying, screaming and very upset, but when he realized that dad was on the other side of the door he felt a little calmer. Dad found a vent that he could talk through to reassure the child and then the child felt a lot calmer. Dad said he was going to go away to get some tools but promised he would be back quickly and would get the child out of the closet. Then the dad was able to release him from the dark closet, and they were reunited.
God is always listening and turning to him should be our first reaction. I sometimes struggle with that being my first reaction, I am a problem solver and my first reaction is to fix the problem myself. Unfortunately, like that toddler in the grocery cart, that sometimes works and so I begin to feel that I solved the problem. But then eventually something happens me and all of us and we can’t fix it. We think and worry, and think and feel anxious, and then fear takes over. We melt down. We might say what I said and thought, darn it, God why didn’t you fix this or why didn’t you do something, and then there is the helpless hopeless feeling that we are in this alone. I was near rock bottom in the middle of February this year, and I was visiting my son in Aspen, CO. On afternoon I decided to take a little time and look at the marvels of the snow, (winter is my second favorite season) on the Rockies and the skiers coming down the hill. I was asking God, basically, now what. What is my next step in my life? After a few deep breaths and intentional relaxing of my muscles, I sensed God saying that life will go on and that I should find joy in all that I experience because I am with you always. There was a sense of relief that washed over me and I truly believed it.
One of the beauties of being able to speak to you today is that I spend more time than usual doing research to prepare to deliver God’s message.
20 Promises of Jesus that will Give You Hope
“God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for Him”
Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest”
“I am the way, the truth, and the life.”
“I am the light of the world.”
“I am the Messiah!”
“I am the resurrection and the life.”
“He will give you everything you need.”
“Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit.”
“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32
“I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised.” Luke 24:49
“I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
“I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you.”
“I am leaving you with a gift-peace of mind and heart.”
“I will send you the Advocate-the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me.” John 15:26
“I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message.” John 17:20
“I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come-the Almighty One.” Revelation 1:8
“I am the First and the Last. I am the living one. I died, but look-I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.”
“I am coming soon”
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
“For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ”
In our passage by Paul from the Philippians, we should know some of the back story.
Paul is either writing from a prison cell, or while under house arrest in Rome (Philippians 1:13). He can’t go visit the Philippians himself, but, he still wants to communicate with them. So on a basic level, Paul is writing this letter because it’s the only way he can talk to the church in Philippi and let them know he’s OK.
I strongly encourage you to take advantage of this time that you have to draw closer to God. This can take many forms. When I was young I used to love to work in our garden. What was always a special treat for me when I was out there was to hear my churches carillon play. It felt peaceful and serene and drew me closer to God. I recently decided to paint my picket fence, and although it was a challenging it also reminded me of that childhood memory in my parents. It was like that peaceful time outside the house. It was working with plants and bushes and trees and the recreative nature that is built into all of us. It was also a time to talk to God and listen for his response. I hope you can find that place in your life that best suites you personally.
I’m going to leave you with more questions than answers.
How does God’s ability to be present with us even while we are isolated help us during this time of crisis?
What does it look like to trust God to be present with you, especially when not many other people can be around?
What are you doing to build your relationship with God during this time?
What are some concerns about COVID-19 that you can turn into prayers during this time of crisis?
Let me close in prayer:
Heavenly Father, I ask that your wisdom be brought into perfect focus for us. That your will and protection be made perfectly clear to us. We pray for each individual in our sphere of influence be protected and guided to draw closer to you. Help us to see your big picture vision so that we may join in your will and direction. Bring joy into our hearts in the midst of all that might worry us, give us anxiety and stress. Let us see your provision for us and receive it with grateful hearts. We pray this with loving and willing hearts, in your name. Amen