Tag: covid

Where I Am

By Ife J. Ibitayo

When I approached my laptop to start this article, I had no idea what I’d write about. I spent some time scrolling back through the articles I’ve written over the past several months, and I was surprised to see just how many of them were written in the spur of the moment. For some writers, this may be fairly normal, but it isn’t for me.

Where I Came From

When I first started this blog a little over two years ago, I was struggling with crippling anxiety. The only thing that calmed my fears was clarity. Knowing what tomorrow held was the answer to my fears today.

That terrible fear of the unknown seeped into every inch of my life: what work I’d finish on the job tomorrow, where I’d be going this coming weekend, and even what article I’d be writing next week. If any space in my life became even slightly murky, panic would surge up like a roaring wave and threaten to drown my peace of mind.

Where I Was Going

But slowly something began to change. Week after week, month after month, fresh idea or no idea, I’d approach this computer screen, and I was forced to trust that God had a plan and a purpose for my fingers that morning. And every day I’d walk away with something I could stamp my seal of approval on. My writings will never be engraved in the annals of man as the greatest blog posts in history. But they have been an authentic and raw exploration of the traumas of my past, my struggles in the present, and my fears for the future.

I still remember when God first laid this blog on my heart. A month had passed since we’d received the decree that “thou shalt work from home indefinitely.” I had more time on my hands than I’d had in years. I spent many hours thinking through my pain, frustration, and grief, and I knew that the only path forward was to write my thoughts down. But then I felt led to publish my diary before the eyes of the world, to place my private musings where everyone else could read them. And I was petrified. But God ministered to my heart that the healing He was devising for me was not just for me. There would be many hurting people who’d read my words and receive the same grace I needed.

Where I Am

Through this blog I’ve learned so much about my own brokenness: my insecurity, my need for affirmation, my predisposition to please people. But I’ve also seen the faithful hand of my heavenly Father through the years. I survived undergrad and grad school, my first job and my first pandemic, true love and genuine heartbreak. I enjoy life at a deeper level now than I could while trapped in the labyrinth of my unprocessed emotions. And I know a key part of that has been untangling my thoughts before all of you who’ve read my words over the years.

When next week comes, I again might have no idea what I’m going to write about. I might not know what work holds for me tomorrow or what God has planned for my future. But I’ve come to trust—just a little better—that God is penning a story that I can’t wait to read in my life and surely in yours as well.

“Though the Lord gave you adversity for food and suffering for drink, He will still be with you to teach you. You will see your teacher with your own eyes. Your own ears will hear Him. Right behind you a voice will say, ‘This is the way you should go,’ whether to the right or to the left.”

(Isaiah 30:20-21)

Great Expectations

By Ife J. Ibitayo

The actor Ryan Reynolds once said, “When you have expectations, you are setting yourself up for disappointment.” Reynolds is not exactly the greatest sage of our generation, but his viewpoint carries strong resonance for many, especially millennials. We millennials are the perennial pimple-faced freshmen of our era, the hormonal, awkward teenagers who never really grew up. We just transferred our angst from classrooms to boardrooms and home offices. We are jaded about politics, jaded about the economy, and jaded about God.

Dashed Expectations

Irish theologian Alister McGrath wrote that, “For many Christians, an experience of God lies at the heart of the religious dynamic. This experience may subsequently lead to theological formulations…yet these formulations are ultimately secondary to the experience that precipitated and shaped them.” In other words, our thoughts of God often stem from our experience of God, not the other way around. And one of the prevailing sentiments of God today is disappointment.

God allowed our nation to experience one of the greatest recessions in American history. He stood by as COVID-19 snuffed out 6 million precious lives. And He did nothing as Russia invaded Ukraine, triggering Europe’s largest refugee crisis since World War II. Many would rather live in a world without God than a God who would allow such tragedies as these.

These past several years, I’ve struggled with disappointment with God as well. I was disappointed with college, grad school, my first job, and my first love interest. I’ve spent months working myself into frenzied excitement about a promise I believed I’d received from the big man upstairs only to have my foundation collapse. I wake up lying on the cold floor surrounded by my dashed expectations and shattered dreams. I’ve spent many nights crying out to a God who is inconveniently silent when I need to hear from Him the most.

Great Expectations

In the midst of my dejection, I stumbled upon a book by one of my favorite author’s called Disappointment with God. In it, Philip Yancey wrote, “Faith means believing in advance what will only make sense in reverse.” In the middle of a rainstorm, it may feel like the sun will never shine again, but we know it will—it must—because the sun is reliable. Similarly, God is trustworthy. The weeping prophet Jeremiah once said, “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning” (Lamentations 3:22-23). God is more dependable than the sun, and every new day we rise to affirms this truth.

Conclusion

We may be going through a disappointing season right now, and greater disappointments surely lay ahead. But we must not forget in the darkness what we proclaimed in the light. The LORD is not a disappointing God but a great one. And a great God demands great expectations.

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

(1 Corinthians 2:9)

Humanity Was Made for Community

By Ife J. Ibitayo

This pandemic has been a harsh teacher for us all. I’ve seen just how fragile my normal life can be: Parties, holidays, and vacations can be disrupted in an instant. Dreams can been delayed for months and even years. And relationships can dissolve overnight.

There are so many people who I considered friends before the pandemic who aren’t my friends anymore. I haven’t pushed them away; I just haven’t pulled them close. And the tidal waves of time and space have caused us to drift apart. But just like fish were made for the sea and birds for the sky, humanity was made for community. But why do people need people? Why is community not a luxury but a necessity?

Community is Necessary for Conviction

Firstly, community is necessary for conviction. Hebrews 10:24-25 says, “And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.” I love the author’s word choice of “paroxysmon”, here translated “provoke.” That Greek word means, “A provocation which literally cuts someone so they ‘must’ respond.” Love and good works are not my natural go-tos. Pizza and Netflix are more like it. But when I hear about my small group helping someone move or serving at a food pantry or setting up for a church event, I am “provoked” into action.

 Conversely, selfishness and evil deeds flourish in isolation. Proverbs 18:1 says, “A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; he rages against all wise judgment.” I know that whenever I used to look at pornography, I didn’t go to the nearest library or visit my closest friend and open up my laptop. Rather, I entered my apartment, made sure no one else was home, turned off the lights, and only then typed in that address. But the Apostle John said, “If we walk in the light, as [God] is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). “Walking in the light” necessarily entails being open and honest about our sins with friends we trust.

Community Is Necessary for Healing

Which leads me to my second point, community is necessary for healing. There is something special about the gathering of believers that brings the power of Jesus near. Jesus Himself said, “Where two or more are gathered together in My name, there I am with them (Matthew 18:20).” Only the power of Jesus can heal broken bones, mends broken hearts, and reunites broken families. And that power is only fully realized in community.

Even Jesus Himself relied on community to bring about the full measure of His miracle working power. After Jesus raised His close friend Lazarus from the dead, “The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go’” (John 11:44). After having raised this man from the dead, surely Jesus Himself could have unwrapped some meager linen strips. But even He believed that there was an essential aspect to having His community join in restoring Lazarus to full health. And this truth applies to us all. Even if God singlehandedly begins a great work in our lives, there is still a role our community will also play in freeing us from our former bondage.

Community is Necessary for Mission

Lastly, community is necessary for our mission here on this earth. Some of Jesus’ last words to His disciples before He died on the cross were, “‘A new command I give you: Love one another…By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34,35). It’s hard to love Jesus’ brothers and sisters without being around them. But when we make that effort, forming meaningful friendships with others, people’s hearts will be softened to the gospel message. Our greatest witness to the truth of Christianity is the quality of our deepest relationships. And the greatest gift we can give ourselves this new year is the blessing of community.

“How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!”

(Psalm 133:1)

A Tale of Two Years

By Ife. J. Ibitayo

I’ve been replaying the highlights of 2021 in my head a lot. Like a CD on repeat, I first think:

2021 was a terrible year. It started with horrific loneliness. For months I didn’t see any of my friends or family members. I would often call up my mom because “I just needed to talk.” Then followed the most stressful months of work I’ve ever had on the job. I shouldered a workload that would have been reserved for a whole team if I were working at a larger company. Then spring gave way to a summer of crushing rejection. I was rejected romantically and disappointed professionally. Then my year wrapped up with someone in my family being diagnosed with cancer and an SUV nearly running me over.

Another Year

But then I hit the pause button and flip over to the B-side of my memories, and I start the recording over again:

2021 was a tremendous year! It was a year of firsts: my first publication, my first date, and my first raise. From when I got vaccinated in last April, the world popped with technicolor and neon light. I was finally able to return to church, eating out, and hanging out. It was a year of healing. The high blood pressure I was diagnosed with in late 2020 vanished by early 2021 for no apparent reason. The anxiety and stress I’ve struggled with for the past several years dissipated as the LORD filled me with His peace. A family member of mine recovered miraculously from an invasive surgery. And God protected me from a speeding SUV that decided it liked the sidewalk better than the highway!

Which version of 2021 is reality? Was it a terrible year with glimpses of the tremendous or a tremendous year with flashes of the terrible?

Conclusion

CNN’s 2021 “Year in Pictures” captures a glimpse of the global lows and highs of these past twelve months. 2021 was the year of Delta and Omicron, capitol rioting, and the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse, but it was also the year of record high vaccinations, the completion of the 2020 Summer Olympics, and the conviction of Ahmaud Arbery’s murderers. It was a year of tears for everyone, both of sorrow and of joy.

When I look back on 2021, I don’t think I’ll ever recollect it fondly. Yet I know it was profoundly important. I’ve seen myself from new vantage points that I didn’t have the perspective for last year. These trials have exercised my soul in ways my pleasant childhood never could have. And I’ve seen a similar pattern among my friends and family members as well.

New leaders have stepped up in church and the community. A complacent generation has been roused to its feet by being forced to its knees. And an unrelenting virus has breathed new life into spiritual realities by taking our breath away.

“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them. For God knew His people in advance, and He chose them to become like His Son, so that His Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”

(Romans 8:28-29)

The Day the LORD Has Made

By Ife J. Ibitayo

“This is the day the LORD has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24). This verse is so oft-repeated, especially during the Thanksgiving season, that it’s been drained of some of its gripping power. Some might breathe a sigh of relief as this month gives way to the next, as if to say, “Now that November has passed, I can stop being thankful.” But November was never intended to be our single month of thanksgiving each year. Rather, it stands as a reminder of what we should be doing each and every day.

James Madison once said, “No people ought to feel greater obligations to celebrate the goodness of the Great Disposer of Events and of the Destiny of Nations than the people of the United States…He protected and cherished them under all the difficulties and trials to which they were exposed in their early days.” And not only in the early days, but now as well. We’ve braved the pandemic, protests, and politics of these past couple years, and we’re still here. We’re still breathing, when so many millions are not.

As we sliced the turkey and shoveled food onto our plates earlier this week, I had a new appreciation for the simple things. Food and family, camaraderie and champagne, laughter and love all make life worth living.

 This coming week, we return to work, school, and stress. Life will flood back in. But let’s not let it drown out our many reasons for gratitude. For this is still the day the LORD has made!

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”

(Philippians 4:4)

It is Well?

By Ife J. Ibitayo

November is the month of gratitude. Ever year we take this opportunity to commemorate God’s goodness over the past ten months. But I’ve been wondering, does that make sense in 2021?

By early October, more people had died from COVID this year than in 2020. Our great nation has wrought tragedy in Afghanistan and at the border. Wildfires, hurricanes, and earthquakes have shaken countries across the globe. And the pangs of injustice continue to reverberate as jury selection for Ahmaud Arbery’s shooting stumbles along. 

On a personal note, 2021 has been one of my most brutal years yet. Crippling heartbreak, debilitating loneliness, and mind-snapping stress all marked this past year for me. I resonate deeply with the laments of Jeremiah in his heart-rending Lamentations: “I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me” (Lamentations 3:19-20).

And so, I ask again, does gratitude make sense this year?

Though Trials Should Come

My question rests upon the false premise that ease is normal and suffering abnormal. I grew up in a happy, upper-middle class home in Hispanic suburbia. I never wanted for food or home. I wasn’t bullied at school, and I succeeded academically. This blissful bubble was part of the reason why I was shocked by the hardships I experienced in college, grad school, and beyond.

Jesus Himself said, “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows” (John 16:33). The apostles added, “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). And Apostle Paul concluded, “You know that we are destined for such troubles” (1 Thessalonians 3:3). The overwhelming assertion of the Bible is that life on this earth will be filled with grueling challenges and soul-rending let downs.

Whatever My Lot

And yet, we often forget this because we swim in the deep seas of God’s benevolent mercies. Matthew 5:45 says, “He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” It’s only when the sun fails and the rain dries up that we look up, remember God, and curse Him.

Many days I found myself face down in the carpet, crying out to God to relieve my romantic anguish. But only from that low vantage point could I see with new appreciation the ready acceptance and love I receive from my friends and family. Only when I was cooped up in my apartment for several agonizing months did I realize how much I took for granted the weekly graces of church and fellowship. Suffering did not black out my reasons for gratitude but threw them in stark relief.

It Is Well

I remember the story of Horatio Spafford, a successful lawyer and businessman who lived a couple hundred years ago. He had it all, a loving family and a thriving company. But then, in an instant, he didn’t.

First, his young son died of pneumonia. Then the great Chicago fire decimated his business. Then a day before Thanksgiving Day 1873, he lost all four of his daughters in a horrendous ocean liner accident.

On his way to his grieving wife, he penned these famous words: “When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll, whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul.”

I’ve come to believe that gratitude is less a product of our physical position than our spiritual perspective. Yes, these past couple years have been terrible. But my God has been good. He was good to me before 2020, and He’s been good to me during 2021. And He will continue to be good to me next year and forevermore.

“Enjoy prosperity while you can, but when hard times strike, realize that both come from God. Remember that nothing is certain in this life.”

(Ecclesiastes 7:14)

Strolling Through the Storm

By Ife J. Ibitayo

Have you ever wondered why Jesus walked on water? He could have sailed over the Sea of Galilee with His disciples when they left (Matthew 14:22). Or He could have teleported like Philip did, taking the Divine Express to His next destination (Acts 8:39-40). Why did Jesus break the rules of physics to commit such a miracle? And why did He allow Peter to join Him, walking on the waves like steppingstones ((Matthew 14:29)?

On Top of It All

If you’re like me, this pandemic has pushed you to your limit. You’ve been asked to do the impossible for the past year and a half: Watching your kids while wrapping up work on your computer screen, waiting “just one more month” before life can return to normal, finding joy in the middle of a pandemic, and loving others from the midst of isolation.  Many days I find myself barely treading water, let alone walking on it!

This experience brought me back to Jesus’ miracle. Keep in mind that this water was not a placid, peaceful surface like you might see in a suburban swimming pool. Gale force winds blasted back and forth. Monster waves heaved the disciples’ boat up and down like a wooden boy toy. But in the midst of this chaos, Jesus was walking.

A better way to translate the Greek word peripateo in this context was that Jesus was “strolling.” He was strolling through the storm. In this way, Jesus demonstrated His mastery over all of life’s circumstances. Whether it be earth, sea, or air, nothing could stop Jesus’ steady, unhurried progress.

The book of Acts is the story of the steady, unhurried progress of the gospel throughout the ancient world. The entire Bible is the story of Jesus’ steady, unhurried progress restoring the entire universe. And your life is the story of Jesus’ steady, unhurried progress transforming you into the person He designed you to be.

Under the Waves

Which brings me to Peter. By asking Jesus to allow him to walk on the waves (Matthew 14:28), Peter was asking Jesus to grant him His perspective. Where everyone else saw a storm to sink into, Jesus saw a surface to stroll on.  That is why Jesus didn’t tell him, “Stay back.” Rather, He commanded Peter, “Come here” (Matthew 14:29). He wanted Peter to experience the serenity of His grace, the greatness of His power, and the glory of His provision in the midst of the storm.

But Peter didn’t remain on top of the water for long. He saw the wind and heard the crashing waves. As fear clutched his heart, he plunged beneath the surface (Matthew 14:30). But that was not the end of Peter’s story. He screamed for Jesus to save him, and Jesus didn’t wait for him to “raise his faith.” He grabbed onto Peter and didn’t let him go. He rescued him out of his watery grave and set his feet back on solid ground.

Conclusion

Jesus extends His arms to us as well. He says, “Come, stroll on the sea with Me.” And if we ever start to sink into the waves, He’ll too ask us, “Why did you doubt” (Matthew 14:31)? Because our safety is never in doubt; He’ll always catch us.

“When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.”

(Isaiah 43:2)

The Freedom of the Terrifying Truth

By Ife J. Ibitayo

I recently read an article about a number of anti-vaccine radio hosts who died of COVID. This got me thinking, “What happens when your beliefs are rooted in something other than reality?”

We all hold fundamental beliefs that we think are self-evident like “We should all have a right to choose” and “Love is love.” We hold to such statements because, just like gravity, they ground us. They provide a comforting framework through which we can make sense of our dizzyingly complex world. But comfort is not a sufficient reason to hold on to any belief.

The Terrifying

Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “I still believe that freedom is the bonus you receive for telling the truth. Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” This truth resonated strongly in March 1965, when the suffering of the black community viscerally confronted white America.

The United States government passed the Civil Rights Act the year before. They were attempting to legislate desegregation from the top down. But it could be argued that the dismantlement of “separate but equal” institutions did not begin in earnest until Bloody Sunday. On that fateful afternoon, racist local law enforcement brutally beat down Martin Luther King Jr. and thousands of others. It could not have been comfortable for any “upstanding, moral” American to come to terms with the vile ugliness of complacency lying in their souls. But only when our nation was awoken from its slumber could it continue the hard work of reconciliation.

This behavior is not anomalous. It’s a worsening trend. 2 Timothy 4:20 says, “For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear.” Now is that time. In the internet age, we can find voices that preach whatever message we want to hear. We live in a generation when many are entrenching themselves in their worldviews, attempting to block out the terror of reality.

The Truth

But Martin Luther King Jr.’s statement still rings true today, “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” Grounding, orientation, only comes when we submit our preferences to the one who said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).

Someone once said that no one holds the market on truth, and there is some validity to this statement. No politician, no preacher, no blogger has got it all right. That’s why we must be willing to question and challenge them. But we ourselves don’t know it all either. That’s why we must be willing to humbly retract and correct ourselves. Yet truth does exist. And if it can’t be found with humanity, maybe it can be found with the one who made us all.

“‘You say that I’m a king,” Jesus replied. “I was born for this, and I have come into the world for this: to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.’”

(John 18:38)

A Miracle Too Late (Jesus and His People Pt. 2)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

For Part 1 on “A Different Jesus”, click here.

The world is thrashing in the grip of a mighty pandemic, crumbling under the weight of a reeling economy, and stretching to its snapping point because of geopolitical tensions. The evidence of God has vanished for many, and the question has surfaced, “If He even showed up now, would it be too late?”

A family thousands of years ago asked the same question. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were some of Jesus’ closest friends. But when Lazarus fell deathly ill, Jesus didn’t arrive until His good friend was thoroughly dead.

The Accusation

When Jesus finally waltzed into town, several days too late, both Mary and Martha told Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died” (John 11:21,32 NIV). They implied that if He had only set out a little earlier, tried a little harder, maybe cared a little more, their brother would have still been alive.

These kinds of accusations are not unique to this family. The Bible is filled with accounts of suffering men and women wondering where God was. Job, the most righteous man in the Eastern Hemisphere while he was alive, cried out to God, “‘Why do You hide your face and consider me your enemy’” (Job 13:24 NIV)? The prophet Jeremiah, in the middle of a life-leeching drought, questioned God, “Are you also confused? Is our champion helpless to save us” (Jeremiah 14:9 NLT)?  King David, from a pit of great despair screamed, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me” (Psalm 22:1 NIV)?

The Answer

Jesus responded to this veiled allegation, “‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in Me will never die. Do you believe this'” (John 11:26 NIV)? In essence, Jesus told Martha that He was still the answer—life—to her problem—death.

The Christian walk, just like most great undertakings, starts off easy but gets considerably harder over time. When we are first raised to new life by accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, many of us will “taste and see that the Lord is good”. Mini-miracles will color our weeks and neon bursts of joy will liven our hearts.

But then the weight of our demanding boss will return, our wayward children will continue rebelling, or an emergency will rock us to our core. Many who’ve attended Sunday School know that Jesus is always The Answer even before the question is asked, but after tragedies like these strike, we must answer whether we truly believe this.

The Command

Moved by compassion at the sight of the sisters’ tears, Jesus asked them where they’d lain Lazarus’ corpse. Once He arrived there, He commanded them to move aside the stone sealing the entrance to Lazarus’ tomb. Martha said, “But Lord, there is already a stench because he has been dead four days” (John 11:39 CSB). Why would Martha even mention this? She believed there was a high likelihood that when they rolled the stone away, Lazarus would still be dead.

Miracles are rarely free. They require risk and cost: sending out that application, taking out that loan, putting one’s reputation and credibility on the line, or inhaling the sickening aroma of defeat if God doesn’t come through. This was the tension that Martha was struggling with. But Jesus told her, “‘Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God’” (John 11:40 ESV)? If we never embrace the risk, we will never see the reward. Only those who take that terrifying leap will see God do only what God can do.

Conclusion

Mary and Martha’s friends took a step of faith and rolled away the stone. When they did, Jesus cried out, “‘Lazarus, come out.’” (John 11:43). Then the mummified man emerged from the tomb and returned to the land of the living!

 Jesus had been too late to heal the sick Lazarus, but He hadn’t been too late to raise the dead one. Similarly, just because our day by day situation seems to be going from bad to worse doesn’t mean it’s become too challenging for God. It just means the miracle will be all the more glorious.

“Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.”

(Isaiah 59:1 NIV)

Missing the Presence (Tragedies of Hope Pt. 1)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

Before Israel was presided over by a president or a king, it was ruled over by Biblical figures known as judges. This period, dominated by sin, war, and subjugation, lasted hundreds of years. Toward the end of it, a priest named Eli judged Israel, and the nation was at war with a people known as the Philistines.

The Philistines routed the Israelites in battle, killing 4,000 of their men. The elders of Israel reasoned that their defeat was because the LORD had not accompanied them onto the battlefield. So the next time they faced their enemies, they brought the ark of the LORD with them. They believed this ark mandated the presence of the LORD and ensured their victory.

This strategy resulted in an overwhelming 30,000-man slaughter, of the Israelites. When Eli heard this news, he toppled over backward and snapped his neck. When his daughter-in-law, the wife of one of the priests of the ark, found out, she cried, “‘The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured'” (1 Samuel 4:22 ESV).

Taking Away the Presence

God promises in His word that He is not just far above us but also close at hand (Deuteronomy 4:7). However, suffering has driven this sense far from millions of people. Crippling hardship can plunge us into a dark moonless fog. And the faith of many are choking out on those fumes:

 Where is God when I’m struggling to breathe,

 dying under sheets or under a knee?

Purpose of the Presence

God said through the prophet Isaiah, “‘When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you'” (Isaiah 43:2 ESV). Unlike the false belief of these Israelites thousands of years ago, the presence of God is not a good luck charm to rescue us from every difficulty. Rather, it’s His assurance that He will join us in the furnace and sustain us through it.

Location of the Presence

But it can still be easy to feel cut off from God’s presence. COVID-19 has transformed powerful church experiences into poor Netflix substitutes. Weekends and weekdays used to be distant cousins. Now they’re evil twins in this waking nightmare. How are we supposed to find God when we’re buried under a mountain of paperwork and empty ramen boxes?

Speaking to the Jewish people thousands of years later, Deacon Stephen said, “‘Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says, “Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool. What kind of house will you build for Me, says the Lord, or what is the place of My rest”‘” (Acts 7:48-49 ESV)?

This profound truth shines in our darkness. God is not confined to a holy place or a holiday. He is everywhere and every when, even here and now.

Conclusion

Seven months passed from when the ark of the LORD was taken by the Philistines to when it was returned to Israel (1 Samuel 6:1). It took a series of miracles to bring this about-face (1 Samuel 5), and it was a source of great joy to the Israelites upon its return (1 Samuel 6:13).

Likewise, we need a miracle to turn this year around. But the LORD is well-acquainted with the miraculous. When He restores our church meetings and Sunday services, we should rejoice. But in the meantime, we can cling onto His name: Emmanuel—God with us.

“Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.”

(Psalm 139:7-10)