Do you see what we’ve got? An unshakable kingdom! And do you see how thankful we must be? Not only thankful, but brimming with worship, deeply reverent before God. For God is not an indifferent bystander. He’s actively cleaning house, torching all that needs to burn, and he won’t quit until it’s all cleansed. God himself is Fire!
Well it’s Monday…what could possibly go wrong? I mean we are only on the second week here in Michigan of lock down due to the Covid – 19 outbreak. I am one who usually dreads Monday, however today, I am missing my work friends. It’s just not a normal “the weekend is over, back to the grind” kind of Monday. It’s “I’m alone and I don’t like it” kind of Monday. Yes, I have lots to do like write and paint pictures and home workouts and creatively cooking without a stove and worshiping.
BUT! Something so important is missing. People. Friends. Co-workers. I am beginning to feel ever so disconnected. My internet is terrible right now. Already burned through 90% of my phone data so now that will be slow too. Can hardly stay online to blog. Pretty sure I cannot do any video blogs but I might give it a try later. Having a hard time watching sermons and live news-feeds. I might as well be in the middle of nowhere.
Now, let’s add to that my house. My unfinished house which has come to a screeching halt. I have done my best to make the upstairs livable for this quarantine. I will go crazy if I am confined to my basement for the next however many more weeks we have to go. I had been fooled into believing I was an introvert who sometimes acted like an extrovert in pubic.
This morning out of nowhere my furnace decided not to work. I panicked thinking perhaps my bill had not been paid. Checked the app, it was paid. Checked for outages in my area, none. So I reached out for prayer. It’s like maybe 40 degrees outside. I have a small electric fireplace but with no insulation or ceilings it is not much help by itself. At the beginning of winter a friend came over and moved the thermostat downstairs so my furnace would only heat the basement unless I opened the vents upstairs to allow the heat to flow. Since I have been home, I have been keeping one register open in the living room and the electric fireplace on and it has been comfortable with a blanket.
After ten minutes of trying to figure out my heat situation, trying not to cry or panic completely I found the owner’s manual and began to seek out the answers. As I began to read the how to’s of why my furnace may not be working it tried to start, then stopped. I kept reading the manual and did the things it said to try before calling a repair man. I had almost exhausted the list when suddenly it just fired right up and stated working. As it continues to work, I am very grateful.
Isn’t this just a perfect example of the Word of God? I knew nothing about my furnace until I opened up the manual. I could not put any of the things in the manual into practice until I read it. I put my faith into that book to help me get through the crisis I was facing. Friends, it is time to seek the Word of God for this situation we are in the midst of. Yes, I knew the manual existed for the furnace, yet I had never needed it until now. How many know there is a manual for this very situation out there? The Bible has everything we need to calm our fears and anxieties.
Whether you are an expert or a novice with the Bible I encourage you to seek out two scriptures during this time of uncertainty, Psalm 91 and Psalm 23. There are many verses which discuss fear and God’s promises to see us through this storm, however you can insert your name into these and feel the peace of God just rush right in. It’s scary to be alone in a time of world crisis but I assure you the very minute you choose to let God into your fear He will be there.
This morning was scary to me. Being recently alone again I had no one to fix the issue for me. Not even sure if a repair man would come out during this quarantine. I did the only thing I knew to do, pray, trust and wait.
Step Upon the Golden Road with Me! 