Conversations at the grocery store used to end with “Have a nice day.” Now the brave people working exits advise me to “Be safe.” This pandemic has toppled our security props. And so we wonder, “Can we actually keep ourselves safe?”
 
One of my favorite picturebooks tells a story[1] using the metaphor in Psalm 91: He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge. The story is set on a prairie farm, just like the one of my childhood. On this farm lived a hen with a brood of chicks. One day the unthinkable happened; a fire destroyed the barn. When the farmer went out to investigate the damage he found the charred hen. Upon removing her burned carcass, the little chicks that had found refuge underneath their mother scurried away. What a marvellous picture of Jesus’ sacrifice for us on the cross! He gave up his life so we can have eternal life.
 
But that is not the end of God’s protective work. Our God, who loved us so much he sent his Son to die for us, through his unlimited power, raised his Son from the dead. God offers protection that powerful to us. Psalm 91 is for us today, in the middle of a pandemic. Read all of Psalm 91 to discover just how relevant it is.
 
Should we ignore safety protocols to show we believe in God’s protection? Jesus didn’t. In Matthew 4 the devil suggested that Jesus should show he was God by jumping off the top of the temple. He even used Scripture making his temptation sound spiritual. The devil ignored context and took a quote from Psalm 91 that fit his purpose: God will order his angels to protect you…so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone. How did Jesus respond? Don’t test the LORD your God.
 
So we are prudent but not afraid. This is where Psalm 91 starts: Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  We know that whatever happens to those who love God is for their good (Romans 8:28). Now that is ultimate safety!

[1] The Little Red Hen was one of thirteen original pamphlets published in 1945 as part of the Illustrated Gospel Series, also known as “The McCague Lessons.” 

A few blogs ago I wrote that this  Covid was a Lenten time.  But there’s another view, among many.

On the seventh day, God rested from all his work. (Gen. 2:2b)  The Creator looked at what reflected His beauty and splendour and wonder, loved the results, and said so! Then -- He rested.

Perhaps this bleak, upside-down time is Sabbath.

 “Sabbath”?  The dictionary says “a day of religious observance and abstinence from work, kept by Jews from Friday evening to Saturday evening, and by most Christians on Sunday.”  But the first place we read "Sabbath" (from the Hebrew verb shabbat, "to rest from labor"; the day of rest, the seventh day), is in Exodus 16:23. To give his human creatures His rest, He insists in His life-rules, that Sabbath is also holy.  (Our culture blithely ignores this.)

 “Holy”?  It means “separated, set apart”.  God is holy; in Him we are made holy, and His gift of rest is holy. We “shabbat” -- in Him. We are apart yet held together by worship with other believers; to listen to, consider, live His word; confess our failures, and remember Christ’s sacrifice in bread and wine. The day is His, lovingly made for His children.

So how did Covid become Sabbath, in my tangled brain?  Where is Sabbath in this distressing time?  We worship: through a glass dimly.  We obey authority: Stay home. Slow down. Revise routines. Wash hands, lots. Travel less. We realize: God walks with us. We need one another. We adapt.  We stop: no church, fellowship, Eucharist, hugs; virtual a poor substitute for real.  It’s a hard rest, but others have it harder.

For people without work or home, those ill with the virus, loved ones dying alone in institutions, their families severed from farewells… we mourn. For them, it’s still Lent. For medical staffs, retail clerks, drivers, mums, health care workers, emergency workers, Covid offers no Sabbath. So we thank God for them, encouraging in creative ways -- singing from balconies or in virtual choirs, banging pots, praying for them, saying, “Thank you.” We acknowledge our common helplessness and share our gifts as we can.
While conspiracy theories abound; along with the usual media frenzy, grace is given to rest quietly in him, in prayer, in confidence, in peace. Let the theorists foam at the mouth. God is doing something  new -- if we care to look.

Isolated with God,  we consider the lonely and ill, help where we can, bear one another up, pray for one another, connect by phone or email or Zoom, look for ways to offer love, reconsider our lives, tell others about Him, see with new eyes.  Always, thankful for God’s so-much in this lean, tough time.
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It’s a grind, this rejigging of the familiar, this absence from normal. Yet it’s an opportunity to discover anew God’s holy way, a stilling time. By His grace, Covid just might offer Sabbath rest. 

Oswald Chambers observes:  ​

Today offers an extraordinary opportunity for us to pray for Muslims.  It’s the 20th day of Ramadan, the month-long fast, and for sincere Muslims (and there are many), it is an important night. Even as I write, and because of Covid, Muslims are praying at home through live streaming – the area around the Kaa’bah in Mecca, where traditionally they would come to worship Allah (the Hajj, one of the five piilars of Islam), is empty.

This month, I’ve followed the onlne “Prayercast”, a daily information and request for prayer for regions, cities and rulers in the Muslim world, explains the significance of this night for Muslim people. In its Prayer Points section, we pray they would find Jesus.

 Laylat al-Qadr is believed to be the night in which heaven is opened and God responds to prayer in a way unlike any other night of the year. Many believe, from Surah [Chapter] 97, that this one night is more spiritually blessed than a thousand months – 83 years – an entire lifetime!

Some Muslims believe that Allah sets in motion his good decrees for each year during Laylat al-Qadr, which can also be translated “The Night of Destiny.” An often-cited Hadith, a traditional saying of Muhammad, says: “Whoever establishes the prayers on Laylat al-Qadr out of sincere faith and hoping to attain Allah’s rewards, then all his past sins will be forgiven” (Bukhari 1.2.34). ... Laylat al-Qadr is a celebration of the giving of the Quran.

Muslims believe that Allah sent the entire Quran down from the seventh heaven to the first heaven during Laylat al-Qadr (the Night of Power). Then the angel Gabriel progressively revealed it to Muhammad over 23 years, from 610-632 AD.

Why am I writing this?  Because it is a prime opportunity to begin to pray for these millions of people made in the image of God.  Dreams and visions are not unusual for Muslims, and many of these have turned them to Christ.  If you have Muslim neighbours, friends, co-workers, and if you are reading this, trust that our God, more powerful and loving than we can imagine, will bring many Muslims to Jesus.

I am full of praise and it is bubbling over.  I wrote a poem on Palm Sunday that I want to share even though it isn’t a good one in the literary sense.  Along with it I have on my heart the hymn I have included below in a contemporary version whose words are much more poetic (included so you can follow along).

Hallelujah to the King of Kings (By Elizabeth Kroeker)
Were every blink of my eyes exuberant praises with palms
And every heartbeat thunderous clapping
If every breath sang out gloriously sublime psalms
And every throbbing nerve impulse exalting
Were every penny of my life offered as thankful alms
If every word of my lips rose as fragrant prayer balms
And every joyful tear a diamond glorifying
I would still want all the rocks, trees and mountains
To raise their voices and join me in singing Hallelujah to the King of Kings

​Use this link to hear the song: Praise, my soul, the King of Heaven by Henry Francis Lyte
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2jscflvzTk

Praise, my soul, the King of heaven
Author: Henry Francis Lyte (1834)
Tune: LAUDA ANIMA (Goss)

1 Praise, my soul, the King of heaven;
to his feet your tribute bring.
Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
evermore His praises sing.
Praise Him! Praise Him!
Praise the everlasting King!

2 Praise Him for his grace and favor
to his people in distress.
Praise Him, still the same as ever,
slow to chide, and swift to bless.
Praise Him! Praise Him!
Glorious in His faithfulness!

3 Fatherlike He tends and spares us;
well our feeble frame He knows.
In His hand He gently bears us,
rescues us from all our foes.
Praise Him! Praise Him!
Widely yet his mercy flows!

4 Angels, help us to adore Him;
you behold Him face to face.
Sun and moon, bow down before Him,
dwellers all in time and space.
Praise Him! Praise Him!
Praise with us the God of grace!

Praise Him! Praise Him!
Praise with us the God of grace!

"Lift up your heart to Him. The least little thought of Him will be acceptable. You need not cry very loud, He is nearer to us than we are aware of."
--  Brother Lawrence

This is a prophetic word that an English friend sent, received from the Glasgow Prophetic Centre, that seems very relevant for us all.  -Brenda Muirhead

Originally written April 14, 2020 
In Philippians 4:4 Paul encourages us to …Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice. Yes he does, and he writes this from prison. In the Passion translation those verses read ‘Be cheerful with joyous celebration in every season of life. Let joy overflow.’
This might not seem to be the best time in our world to encourage joy and rejoicing but I believe that is exactly what the Holy Spirit is saying to the churches at this time.

Looking at the prophet Habbakuk we see him speaking at a time of dire circumstances for the nation of Israel, Habbakuk 3:17-18 Though the fig tree doesn’t blossom and there is no fruit on the vines, though the product of the olive fails and the fields yield no food. Though the flock is cut off from the fold and there are no cattle in the stalls, (bearing in mind this is an agricultural economy with no welfare state back up) and we see what he chooses to do. Yet I will rejoice in the Lord in the victorious God of my salvation. (Amplified Bible)

Two things I believe the Lord is saying to us, firstly that, although joy is a fruit of the spirit, rejoicing is our choice, (often beginning with thankfulness) and secondly that this joy is not in our circumstances but ‘in HIM’ our ever present Saviour, helper and friend.               

As we read on in we see why Habbakuk  makes this choice in vs 19 The Lord is my strength, my personal bravery, and my invincible army;  He makes my feet like hinds’ feet and will make me to walk (not stand still in terror) and make (spiritual) progress on my high places (of trouble suffering or responsibility.) (AMP)
All this of course resonates with James 1 vs 2,3 the ‘count it all joy’ verses. In the Passion Translation they read:

My fellow believers, when it seems as though you are facing nothing but difficulties, see it as an invaluable opportunity to experience the greatest joy that you can! For you know that when your faith is tested it stirs up power within you to endure all things. And then as your endurance grows even stronger it will release perfection into every part of your being.

So may be some  Habbakuk verses  for our day may sound something like:-
“Though I’m confined to a small space and lonely, and there are no tinned tomatoes on the shelves, when reports of sickness grow by the day,  and I’m afraid for my life, when the people I’m with  get irritating and when my finances are taking a hit, when my job is no longer secure and my house may be repossessed,  when I hear of people dying and I can’t see those I love, etc etc etc Yet I WILL rejoice in you Lord, because you are with Me and will draw me close and change me to be more like you through this time.”

I believe that where the enemy has tried to intimidate God’s people into silence the Holy Spirit is orchestrating  a great wave of praise to Jesus throughout the world and as God’s people refuse to stop rejoicing in Him, and in fact increase their praise, we the church will be more and more filled with His presence and astound the world.
God is indeed wanting to use these current challenges big and small to change us from one degree of glory to another by His Spirit as He promises in Romans 8, working everything together for our good and changing us to look more like Jesus.