Hi Lord,
It’s me. Again. I have so many questions for you. This whole pandemic thing that has invaded every single part of our lives is really annoying.
I say that as a healthy, self-quarantined 60+ year old.
I’m sad I will not be able to spend Easter with my kids and grands.
I’m lonely.
I’m struggling to get what’s in my heart and head out into tangible words on paper. I need to process this.
But I am really upset with myself for those thoughts and feelings. My reality is real. My feelings are real BUT I’m still upset.
I’m mad about the healthcare workers not being protected as they fight on the front lines. I’m mad about the people who are dying alone and their families who tell them goodbye as they FaceTime. I’m grieving for the people who are dying and no one answers the phone when the doctor calls.
I’m so horrified at the abuse of power and the very dark side of this world wide pandemic that are swirling around. (This is not a political statement – but addressing the powers beyond.)
What is this? Why do we all feel so helpless?
Jesus knew what was going to happen in the last three days of His life on earth as Jesus of Nazarene. He knew He would obey His Father God. His situation appeared hopeless. But He wasn’t helpless. He entered the Garden of Gethsemane. He went there to DO something. That something was PRAY! Through prayer, He went as near to God as possible.
Many times we feel as though we carry the weight of the world on our shoulders.
Jesus literally carried it all to the cross because of His love for us.
But that night in the Garden, because of that love, He carried all His questions and thoughts, feelings and the reality of His situation to His Father.
John 11:35 Jesus wept.
Our thoughts, feelings and questions are not the same as His. What I carry in my bundle of burdens are not the same as yours. But each of ours are very real in these very uncertain times. We have the same opportunity to enter into our own “Garden of Gethsemane”. God waits for us there. Our Garden looks different but God knows where it is.
We can carry every single doubt, fear, our anxious thoughts and questions to Him. There is nothing we cannot ask Him. When we do this, we realize how near He is.
We can emerge from this dark – in the middle of the night – time with Him as warriors. We can become prayer warriors armed with the Holy Spirit and the spiritual armor we are given as believers of the forgiveness and redemption Jesus brings into our lives. {please take time to read about the armor of God in Ephesians 6:10-18}
Thursday night Jesus enters the Garden of Gethsemane.
Friday He is brought before the courts of Pilate who can’t find any guilt in Jesus, yet, He was crucified among common thieves.
Saturday Jesus’ body lay in a tomb nearby. The city was quiet. His followers hid for fear they would also be tried with a “guilty because they followed Jesus” verdict.
Sunday the women went to His tomb only to find the stone rolled away and EMPTY!
Because the tomb could not hold the Son of God.
Today we celebrate the empty tomb. But we also celebrate that empty bundle we walk away with. The one we laid down at Jesus’ feet. The one Jesus empties during our time of prayer.
No matter what you are carrying, when we lay it at His feet, all that empty space makes room for Him. The more of us we give Him, the more of Him we have. We give Him our sins, our hearts full of repentance and He gives us redemption, salvation and a new found hope for eternity.
There is an open path for our hearts to learn to trust Him. Our prayers become more passionate. His hope sparks a flicker of hope in our souls. It begins to grow as our prayer time becomes richer. We soon realize that we stay in a perpetual state of prayer that never ceases. There is no permanent “Amen” to our prayers. That flicker becomes a “full on fire” passion that can’t be quiet.
We discover we have become prayer warriors.
Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
When I read this today, I know that He is fully present with me in my isolated quarantine. I pray “God, even though I feel alone because my family is not around, I know with every part of my heart and soul that You are here with me.”
Philippians 4:6 “Do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
Pay close attention to the words “any” and “every”. God hears anything and everything. We can praise Him in all things thankfully – thankful that we know He hears and listens.
Solomon prayed as he dedicated the temple to God and closed with these words which I pray with you today.
2 Chronicles 6:40 “Now, O my God, let your eyes be open and your ears attentive to the prayer of this place.”
May we feel the overwhelming presence of God in our lives these days.
Remember – we can’t choose what is happening to us but we can choose how we respond.
Stand with me as His mighty prayer warriors!
In Peace, Janet
My book was published seven months ago. The response has been so sweet. You can continue to my website www.janethines.com to purchase and it can be found on Amazon. Let me know what you think and my prayer is for you to move closer to God in every day life. Finding Him there keeps us balanced and growing closer to Him in these uncertain times.
