Living Hope's Hope in Isolation
As news this week continues to be bleak and restrictions mount, I have been in need of encouragement. Our isolation is growing, but the Word of God enlarges us. This afternoon I thumbed through my go-to book of the Bible, the Psalms. I wanted to find a meaty lament to suit my mood but that’s not what I needed. I found myself drawn to certain hymns of praise, and I spent several moments with Psalm 100. This short little beauty is worth meditating on.
“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into His presence with singing!” (v.1-2)
These first few verses are a call to worship that we would rightly put in a communal context. Nevertheless, these commands can also be carried out singly. This afternoon, when I read certain key words, I realized right away that I need to keep my perspective joyful and bring my mind to bear on service, not bitterness, which is a worse isolation than being told to stay at home. Furthermore, it is an isolation Americans have been willingly creating for decades. I also realized that I am called to come into God’s presence wherever I am, whatever my circumstances. I need only open his Word or my remembrance of his word.
“Know that the Lord, he is God!”
It is He who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.” (v.3)
We are all gathered under God’s protection, no matter what circumstance we endure. And the Lord, he is God over everything, from the tallest mountains to the strongest waves to the smallest viruses.
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name.” (v.4)
Now we might think, See! See! We can’t enter His courts (i.e. the church), because we’re told to stay home. Well, now what about that? One of the biggest problems we have had at Living Hope Fellowship is getting people to attend regularly and come to events and build a community together. Now we see what it is like to not have that community. I pray that God will use this circumstance to build in us a true gratitude for that coming time when we once again will exercise the great privilege of entering the house of God with thanksgiving and praise.
“For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness is to all generations.” (v.5)
No matter what happens, God is good. We are going through a hard time. Use this time well. Turn off the news for a while and turn on your memory. Call to mind God’s faithfulness, his goodness that he has shown to you in your life. This isolation will last for a time, but the Lord’s steadfast love to His people lasts forever.
