03/18/2020
Hey friends,
This stinks.
When I got to church on Sunday morning I started walking up the stairs to the Youth area and got about halfway up there before I realized I wouldn’t get to see y'all. Many areas of ministry are based around “ideas” or “action” that isn’t necessarily consisting of the same group of people on a consistent basis. Youth ministry is not one of those areas. We exist in a community that’s based on face to face interaction, spiritual development, and outward action.
It felt like COVID-19 halted all of that.
However, it really hasn’t.
Based on those three things the only one we’re limited in right now is face to face interaction. Before sitting down and writing this I thought that part was the one of the more important ones.
It’s not.
A Bible verse that’s been on my mind over the past couple of days is Exodus 14:14 and it says “The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” On social media people have been using this verse to say “Dr. God is gonna come out of the sky and one punch the coronavirus if you just stay inside”. While that'd be cool I think we can dig deeper to find more in this verse in principle as opposed to commandment.
Moses was at the edge of the Red Sea when the people he had worked so hard to set free began squabbling. Some figured there weren’t enough graves in Egypt so Moses just took them to the outskirts to die. They would’ve rather continued being slaves than die in the wilderness. But Moses, who about 4 chapters ago told God many reasons why this very plan wouldn’t work, got up and told the Israelites to take a chill pill. He told them, “The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still”.
That’s not something the Israelites wanted to hear. No one wants to be told to be still when an army of 600+ chariots is in hot pursuit. Sound familiar?
In this time of uncertainty, I encourage you to take a few moments to be still and consider where God is at work not only in your lives but also in the world (and ya know, pray about it). There’s a vast difference between being inside and being still. Being inside has shown me that I have lots of dust of on my ceiling fans that I need to clean. Being still has pushed me to do ministry in ways I never considered realistic until this week.
I’m working on ways for us to gather safely and I’ll start reaching out and checking in on y’all very soon. I encourage you to do the same for people you think may need someone to chat with during this time. If you ever need me you know I’m here and I’m only a call or text away.
Be still and be well.
- Miles