What are you dependent on? In the last 12 weeks what have you found yourself missing? Or maybe what have you found yourself doing?
These past 2 or 3 weeks have been a little chaotic. Don’t get me wrong, I am so happy that things are opening back up and we are able to go to church again. But my mind got a little too used to shutdown life. Also, I am so thankful my job was considered essential, I know that wasn’t the case for many people and let me just say I am so sorry if your job closed. What you do and provide for your family is absolutely essential. But while many of my friends were stuck at home, I was still working, clocking in at 7am and sometimes closing till 6pm. But what did change was everything else. My cousin’s birthday was cancelled so we did a drive by parade, I could no longer go anywhere without a mask, and church was cancelled.
Now as devastating as this was, a part of me embraced the slowness. I loved working and then just coming home. No meetings, or rehearsals. No extra this or that. I just went home. I am going to be honest, I actually did not miss anything. Actually the whole 10 weeks I never once felt like I was missing my old busy life. Maybe that is not your story, and I am sorry. Many of my family and friends missed church, work, and friends.
One of the reasons I didn’t miss anything was because I had treated myself pretty badly pre-corona. I never gave myself a break or a day off. When everything closed I had to learn to rest.
What I did miss though was leading people in worship. I missed leading you in worship. Leading empty chairs meant I was actually leading myself in worship and it was something I had maybe never done well before. There was definitely a lot of heart to heart with myself and God.
This is what I have gathered.
God allowed the churches to close so that you could learn to lead yourself in worship. In hopes that you would learn to lead yourself and your family in prayer. God allowed the churches to close so you could learn how to pastor yourself.
I pray that in this time you learned the importance of God's word. Because it’s the only thing on this earth where God himself leads us.
The other thing I learned was God allowed churches to close so His people would go out. Here is an example, my cat has been living inside the past three years. She was a recuse and probably lived outside a lot. In no way does she miss her old life! Every time the door opens she stays sleeping on the ground. She has no curiosity either because she is very comfortable.
So let me ask you, if God showed the world and said “Go,” would you go? Or would you turn around and see the comforts of the church and forget the mission of Jesus Christ? I know I did.
These 12 weeks I have been repenting and reflecting about the comforts of the building. The comforts of leading Christians in worship. This season many people felt like Jesus was coming back, which He will. But they reached out to me wanting to know if I could talk to them about Jesus.
It’s crazy to me that I fulfilled more of my purpose in quarantine than I did in a Sunday service. I’m not putting a Sunday service to shame! This is just my personal story of sitting in a pew.
So I’ll ask again, what are you dependent on? Are you depending on Jehova Jirah? Or are you still depending on the job that was closed 3 weeks ago?
What do you find yourself missing? Now is definitely not the time to still miss it! Go! And grab it! Walk in the authority of a child of the high King!
And lastly, what are you doing? Let me give you this advice. Live a life Jesus would smile upon.
“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 28:19 NLT