The COVID-19 virus has spread from Asia to Europe and North America rapidly over the week, bringing with it a level of panic and anxiety—over 200 countries and territories around the world, from the supermarket to the stock market to the palace to the prison—not seen such a terror and fear in the recent history. The global tally is now more than 537,017 infected and more than 24,117 dead as on March 27, 2020, 08:35 GMT. There are around 7. 8 billion people in the world and only an omniscient God know exactly how many people will be touched by this virus and to what extent.
The Bible is not a medical manual. But it does lay the foundation of knowledge, and reveals many health laws which mankind has needed thousands of years to rediscover. God lovingly gave the Israelite's the principles of quarantining the sick in Leviticus 13 and Numbers 5 where He used examples of leprosy to represent any contagious sickness or disease. Isaiah 26:20 say “Go home, my people, and lock your doors! Hide yourselves for a little while until the LORD’s anger has passed.” So How do we respond time like this?
As God’s people, we should be a model community in terms of cleanliness, hygiene and exercising these quarantine laws. We can practice giving, in the right way, by not giving our illnesses to others, instead providing a healthy environment to everyone around us. Quarantining ourselves is an act of love that qualifies as a “work” in the context of a works part of faith. Any man, woman or child who is sick should not go out or fellowship with other members so they do not infect anyone else. This is an important way to give, sacrifice and show love to others. We all want one another to be at services whenever possible, but we also realize we should follow God's quarantine laws. In a world where everything seems to be getting more complicated, if we make best use of these days of silence and solitude can help us to downshift and refocus on the things that matter most.
We are humans, not machines. We were made for rhythms of silence and noise, community and also for solitude. God made us for cycles and seasons, for routines and cadences. Seasons were God's invention. On the fourth day of creation he said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years" (Genesis 1:14). God loves diversity, and wanted us to experience our world from the far north to the far south. C S Lewis said: “I am glad its fall, but I'm also glad it's not always fall. The beauty of each season demonstrates the beauty of the One who created all seasons. We need God’s assistance because we don’t know the future. We can’t see even one hour ahead. The Bible says, “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.”
God created us to live in fellowship with Him, but sin broke that fellowship. As human beings, we are born with a capacity to know God; but we are also born without the knowledge of God and without a relationship with Him. God loved His fallen race so much that He sent His Son, the Lord Jesus, to die for our sins so that we might be restored to fellowship with God through faith in Christ. Even those of us who have trusted Him and have been given new life experience times when we feel alienated from our heavenly Father. Fortunately, we're always the ones who have moved away—sin breaks our fellowship with God. That's why He has provided a way for us to be continually cleansed and forgiven when we confess our sins to Him. He doesn't want us to be lonely for Him.
We may be lonely for people, for friends, for a mate, but if we have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ, we never have to be lonely for God again. We have His constant assurance that He is always love us, with us, for us and in us.
St Augustine rightly said, "Our hearts are restless, O God, until they find their rest in Thee." In order to grow closer to Him, we need to cultivate our fellowship with God. We should respond to the new virus with "both faith and wisdom." Be wise to take the necessary precautions, be practical to practice the presence of God, be prayerful for the people concern, and proclaim Christ's peace in an atmosphere of fear. Without God’s wisdom, how can we live well or pray with power, particularly when we realize how little we actually know? When we, with great faith, make a request of God for wisdom, he will provide us with all that is necessary to make our voices heard in heaven.
Psalm 91:3 says, “Surely he shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence.”
We must look to God as the source of our nation’s ultimate survival and success. “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.” What is true for houses and cities is true for families and nations as well. Proverbs 14:34 says, “Godliness makes a nation great, but sin is a disgrace to any people.” Unrighteousness, therefore, is a national security issue. There are times when man can do nothing more than he has done, and all that is left is patiently waiting for God’s intervention. Although man was made for action, he was also intended for contemplation. With the uncertainty surrounding the outbreak of the COVID-19 CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC, Edward Mote’s famous hymns worth contemplating …..
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus' name.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
Yes our hop is built on nothing less than the Lord Jesus and when we lift our voices to heaven with faith, it makes a difference. So we must seek God’s intervention with a broken heart and sense of urgency. God instructs us through the psalmist: “Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.
Remember that we are lonely, but not alone. Some people are afraid of being alone. They believe they need people around them to feel happy and content. Why is it difficult for someone to be alone? Tim Hansel said: "Loneliness is not the same as being alone. Loneliness is feeling alone . . . no matter how many people are around you. It is a feeling of being disconnected, unplugged, left out, and isolated." We’re born with these blind spots and shortcomings. Some of us are born with physical infirmities, and all of us are born with moral weaknesses. Praise God that our loving father in heaven is willing to help us with our infirmity. God empowers us to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” so that we may overcome our hereditary and cultivated tendencies to sin. God not only helps us in our weakness, but he also gives us a fresh start when we turn to him in faith and prayer.
Philippians 4:6 says “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Why do we pray? We pray to “acknowledge that the Lord is God. In the scripture God says hundreds of times in hundreds of ways "Fear not." We should pray with the knowledge that we have been invited to speak to our omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent God. Jesus said “When you pray, go into a room alone and close the door. Pray to your Father in private. He knows what is done in private and will reward you. “(Mathew 6:6.).” In Philippians 4:6, the Bible says, “Have no anxiety about anything, but pray about everything—with thanksgiving.”
For whom do we pray? The apostle Paul instructs us: “I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people in the world. When our prayers are heard in heaven, our need for guidance, strength, healing, mercy, grace, and wisdom will be met by the God who has given us this promise: “All glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” If Daniel, with all the responsibilities as a Prime Minister of Babylon upon him, found time to pray three times a day regularly (Daniel 6:10), we can discipline ourselves for the purpose of godliness these days . Every day let God speak to us, and let us speak to him, within the shut doors of our own chamber. Such a times, when devoted to pious purposes, is highly constructive to man, and most acceptable to God. My desire is that this writing would serve you with insight, information, instruction, and inspiration to make best use of our times ahead.
Most people know that disciplined training is necessary for attaining any skill—professional, academic, or athletic. But for some reason, we do not see this principle applying to Spiritual lives. The Bible does not say, “God is at work in you to bring about his good purposes, therefore stay in bed.” It says, “continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (see Phil. 2:12– 13). Grace is too strong to leave us passive, too potent to let us wallow in the mire of our sins and weaknesses. “My grace is sufficient for you,” Jesus says, “for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9). It is the grace of God that gives us his “means of grace” for our ongoing perseverance and spiritual growth. Thus put yourself in the Path of God’s Grace. We cannot earn God’s grace or make it flow apart from his free gift. But we can position ourselves to go on getting as he keeps on giving.
The one on whom we lean is “the God of all grace” (1 Pet. 5:10). He not only elects the undeserving without condition (Rom. 8:29–33; Eph. 1:4) and works in them the miracle of new birth and the gift of faith, but he also freely declares them righteous by that faith (“justification”) and begins supplying the flow of spiritual life and energy to experience the joy of increasing Christ likeness. 1 Tim. 4:7 says. Discipline yourself for Godliness. Just as we must engage with others for some of the disciplines of the life, so there are times when we must temporarily withdraw into the disciplines of silence and solitude. One of the more obvious reasons for getting away from earthly noise and human voices is to hear the Voice from the God.
Solitude, the state of being alone, is often considered one of the traditional spiritual disciplines. Many times it is associated with silence and solitude. It involves creating space in our lives to encounter God. Silence and solitude are not an end in themselves but a means to the end of a closer relationship with God. “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.”(Isaiah 30:15)
Bionically speaking, solitude is a valuable practice. “Alone time” with God can allow God to examine us. It can be a time of knowing God more deeply, a time of strengthening, a time of refreshment, a time of sharing our deepest concerns with God, and a time of simply being with the One who formed us and loves us beyond our understanding. Spending time alone with God rids our minds of distraction so that we can focus on Him and hear His Word. Abiding in Him, we enjoy the intimacy to which He calls us and come to truly know Him.
Living pure and blameless lives is not something we gain naturally. The Bible says we were conceived in sin and “brought forth in iniquity.” In the words of the apostle Paul, “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t.” The good we desire to do, we often don’t do. The evil we hate, we find ourselves doing. We encounter a civil war inside of ourselves, and we cry out with Paul, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” Fortunately, we serve an all-wise God who “knows our frame” and “remembers that we are dust.” God knows we need help, and he has not left us unprepared.
Bible says “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10) Silence and solitude must focus on God, not on us. The idea is to be alone with God, to pray, to meditate on His Word, and to simply enjoy His presence. Some people use solitude as a way to distance themselves from the distractions of the world, acknowledge the interior of their hearts, and hear God speak. Being alone can also be used as a time of rest and refreshment. God will never draw near to those who do not draw near to Him, and the way we “draw near” is through righteousness. “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded” (James 4:8). In fact, it is only those who have been saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9) who have that hope, because Christ is the hope through which we draw near to God (Hebrews 7:19). An important aspect of silence and solitude, along with simplicity and frugality, is that we must deny ourselves some of this overload of sensation to listen to the voice of God in our spirit. So develop a quiet place in our homes for silence and solitude. God is the source and focus of all things in the universe. Our lives are filled with things that distract us from Him. Believers should practice the disciplines of silence and solitude as men in the Bible did, focus on God, to help us become more like our Lord.
The Bible certainly supports the value of solitude. We see examples of God’s people practicing solitude in the Bible. For instance, Moses met regularly with the Lord at the tabernacle (Exodus 33:7, 11). God spoke with Elijah (1kings 19) and Jacob (Genesis 32:24-32) while these men were alone. The best example is Jesus, who “often withdrew to lonely places and prayed” (Luke 5:16).
Jesus, God Incarnate, spent time alone with His Father. We see Him seeking out solitude after performing miracles (Mark 1:35), in times of grief (Mathew 14:13), before choosing the twelve apostles (Luke 6:12-13), in His distress in Gethsemane (Luke 22:39-44), and at other times. Solitude was a consistent practice in Jesus’ life. While Jesus is much more than our example, nevertheless He is our example, including our model for spirituality. He pursued times of solitude. The gospel accounts tell us Jesus often got alone, not just for rest and a change of pace, but also that He might spend time in communion with His heavenly Father.
In Matthew 4:1-11, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, and He was alone there for 40 days, except for when the devil came to tempt Him.
"And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone" (Matthew 14:23).
"And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed" (Mark 1:35).
"And when it was day, he departed and went into a desolate place" (Luke 4:42)
Jesus not only modeled prayer in solitude, He exhorted us to do the same: "But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret." (Matthew 6:6).
God desires “alone time” with us. He wants a personal relationship with us. He created us as individuals, “knitting” us in the womb (Psalm 139:13). God knows the intimate details of our lives, such as the number of hairs on our heads (Luke 12:7). He knows the sparrows individually, and “you are worth more than many sparrows” (Mathew 10:29, 31). He invites us to come to Him and know Him (Isaiah 1:18; Revelation 22:17; Song of Solomon 4:8). When we desire to know God intimately, we will seek Him early (Psalm 63:1) and spend time with Him. We will be like Mary, sitting at Jesus’ feet listening to His voice (Luke 10:39). We will hunger and thirst for righteousness, and we will be filled (Mathew 5:6). “For God alone my soul in silence waits.” (Psalm 62:1)
From Biblical records we see: When Job was tempted by Satan, his livestock was robbed from him by robbers, his servants were killed, calamity befell his children, he got sore boils all over his body, and When he suffered great pain from the sore boils all over his body, his wife told him to forsake God, but instead of doing that, Job said to his wife, “Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?” (Job 2:10). Facing these sudden misfortunes, he endured pain in both his body and spirit. However, he didn’t complain about God’s taking away from him, but said, “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The LORD gave me what I had, and the LORD has taken it away. Praise the name of the LORD!” (Job 1:21). Job’s faith is very admirable. He bore a strong and resounding testimony for God, which shamed and defeated Satan. Seeing Job’s faith, God blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning. Job pursued knowing God, and he produced a heart that revered God. In the end he had true faith in God and received God’s approval and blessings. So God restored to Job his friendships, his fortunes, his family, and his future.
May I conclude this article with a quote?
“Meet me, O Christ, in this stillness of morning.
Move me, O Spirit, to quiet my heart.
Mend me, O Father, from yesterday’s harms.
From the discords of yesterday, resurrect my peace.
From the discouragement of yesterday, resurrect my hope.
From the weariness of yesterday, resurrect my strength.
From the doubts of yesterday, resurrect my faith.
From the wounds of yesterday, resurrect my love.
Let me enter this new day, aware of my need,
and awake to your grace, O Lord. Amen.
