Sheltering at Home

A Divine Pause…

Recently I heard a speaker ask a very good question.  Has the Lord placed the earth in a moment of Divine Pause?  Over the last few weeks, my heart has been stirred in ways that I have never experienced before in my life.  As I “Shelter at Home” I find myself with a lot of time on my hands.  I am working from home, caring for those in my world as best as I can and trying to stay healthy.  I know that my life is very different from some in my community who are trying to work from home, care for children, homeschool their kids who are usually in school, loving on their families, cleaning their houses and trying to keep everyone on track/busy during this isolated time at home. As I have pondered and meditated on God’s word, the Lord has taken me over and over to the book of Exodus, to the first Passover. I can’t help but think about the similarities between what I am going through and what was happening in Exodus.

Let me quickly give you a little background on the story. In the book of Exodus, the Israelite nation is living in Egypt – a long way away from the land that the Lord had given to them in Canaan.  They had lived in Egypt for a long long time and had eventually become slaves to the Egyptians. But, the Lord had promised to release them from slavery and to return them to the land he had promised them.

God selected Moses to lead them out but the Pharaoh would not let them leave.  So God sent different plagues upon Egypt, but he still refused to let them go. He was a very stubborn man. The people continued to cry out to the Lord to deliver them. In Chapter 12 the story comes to the first Passover.  After 10 plagues wreaked havoc on the Egyptians and their land, the Lord was ready to bring this to an end and free his people. So he gave them very specific instructions.  God made it clear that from now on, things were going to be different.  Here were his instructions.  On the 10^th day of this month, choose a specific animal (described in the verses).  On the 14^th day, at twilight, slaughter the lamb or goat and take the blood from the animal and smear it on the sides and top of the doorframe of their home. Then, they were to “Shelter at Home” and share a feast together as a family.  This was the first Lord’s Passover.

God was getting ready to “Passover” Egypt.  During the night, the first born of each family would die. “But the blood on your doorposts will serve as a sign, marking the houses where you are staying.  When I see the blood, I will pass over you and the plague of death will not touch you.” (12:13) There are many reasons and explanations for why God took this terrible action against Egypt … but that is not my purpose in writing at this time.  What I want to focus on is this.  Just like the Israelites were told to “Shelter at Home” to wait for death to pass over, we are being called to Shelter at Home to wait for the virus to pass over us.

Just as the Israelites waited in fear for the terrible plague to “Passover” their home, so we too wait, sometimes with great fear, for this pandemic to pass over us.  The Israelites were told to mark their homes almost like a protective shield against death.  But before it would all come to an end, they were told to wait, eat, and be together as a family. They were also told that each year, they were to mark this event.  They were instructed to remember how God had saved them and protected them and this became the Feast of the Unleavened Bread or Passover. What happened as a result?  The Pharaoh begged them to leave and the people marched out of Egypt and began their long journey home.

Here we are, in March 2020 and we are called to Shelter at Home.  We are not being asked to put blood on our door frame, neither are we being promised by God that no one in our household will be touched by the COVID-19 virus.  But I wonder something. Is God offering us a Divine Pause?  Just as the Israelites protected their homes with blood, we can “put on the full armor of God” to protect our minds and hearts during this time. We need that FULL armor of God to protect ourselves from the arrows and darts of our enemy.  The enemy that wants to discourage us, remind us of lies we have believed for years, inflame us to anger and irritation, distract us, tempt us to whine and complain and focus on everything that is wrong around us?  Is the enemy trying to keep us discouraged, paralyzed by fear and anxiety? There is nothing like a COVID-19 virus to remind us that we actually control very little of our lives.

During this time, emotions are high.  It is part of being human.  There is much to fear, loss and grief is real. We ours dealing with something that we have never experienced before.  But I wonder, is God calling us to “wait” like the Israelites were asked to wait until the death passed over?  Maybe.  I believe that God is working in our hearts on a VERY individual and personal level right now.  But for me, I wonder, is God asking me to Shelter at Home, “wait” and protect myself by putting on the full armor of God again and again and again?

The truth is, we live in a broken world.  I heard my friend Palmer say, “We entered into this crisis as broken people.  Now we find ourselves in the midst of a pandemic crisis in a broken world.” I certainly don’t have all the answers.  My thoughts are not complete nor do I say I have “A Word from The Lord” but I ponder, and meditate and I lean in as best I can to listen to the Spirit of God.  What is he saying to you right now?  Is God asking you to shelter and wait and arm yourself?

What does “waiting” look like right now?  It certainly does not mean to do nothing. The Israelites were busy during their time of waiting and a beautiful amazing Seder Feast was born.  Here we are entering into Palm Sunday and Easter.  Jesus celebrated the Passover right before he was arrested and eventually crucified.  But guess what????  He’s alive.  He rose from the dead.  Hallelujah.  Amen and Amen.  As we celebrate Easter this year, Sheltered at Home, can we seek God for how he wants us to wait?

Wait upon the Lord my friend.  Wait upon him.  Arm yourself with the Word of God, with the belt of truth (not lies), a shield against the enemy (your faith), with feet that are ready to serve others, with a helmet of salvation (remembering that we are God’s children). Remember … always remember, that God defeated death.  His Spirit is with us, leading us, reminding us, speaking truth into our hearts in the midst of a very hard time…..

Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!

Ps 27:14