“…and the Lord closed the door behind him (Noah).” Genesis 16.6
Social distancing; new normal; lockdown; words that we hear everywhere we turn social media, news, friends, and relatives. There is not a conversation or a phone call that is devoid of those words.
Americans are not used to being locked in. We cherish our freedom, our eating out, our socializing, and shopping.
Laila and I have experienced lockdown three times in our lives:
The first time was in 1967 during the war in Egypt. We were locked in for months at a time. We could not even go out to the store. At night we had to put off all the lights by 5 pm. My father, an officer in the military, was on the front lines. Laila’s father had to go down to the TV station daily to read the evening news.
The second time we were locked for close to six weeks during the Arab Spring (I honestly don’t understand why it is called Arab Spring!). There was no internet. We could hear riots and gunshots all around us as Islamists were trying to take over the country, which they eventually did for 18 months, the worst months in the history of Egypt.
The coronavirus pandemic is our third lockdown.
And honestly, this is heaven compared to the last two times.
Did you notice in Genesis that it says that it was God who locked the door behind Noah and his family?
For 370 days and 370 nights in the Ark (and for you who prefer numbers https://answersingenesis.org/bible-timeline/biblical-overview-of-the-flood-timeline/), Noah’s family is locked in. No windows, decks, internet, cell phones, TV, YouTube, Facebook, or Netflix. Mrs. Noah could not go out for walks or go to the store. They could not take the animals for their daily walk.
All they heard was the sound of rain for forty days and forty nights.
They spent their time fellowshipping, praying, loving on one other, and caring for the animals.
God provided for them. I wonder if Noah fretted that maybe the amount of food, he took with him would not be enough for eight people and hundreds of animals, especially that he did not know how long it would be before they would disembark the Ark.
Can you imagine that Noah did not think of opening the window of the Ark except after 264 days!! That is over nine months.
I am not against you watching the news, but if you are surfing from one channel to another for twenty-four hours a day, you are leaving the window open for far too long. The rain can flood your Ark with anxiety, fear, doubt, and disbelief.
Even though there is an ocean of viruses and life seems chaotic, God is watching over you!
Do not be afraid!
Be faithful to Him and wait patiently. The rain will stop, and the rainbow will shine again.
Don’t let the coronavirus shake your Faith. Don’t panic, don’t fear.
Pray and believe that it is God who locked you in to save you from the raging storm of the coronavirus.
As my daughter in love, Lauren told me yesterday, “Crisis takes us either to the pinnacle of faith or the abyss of disbelief.”
Hold on to Jesus because all your provision comes from the Lamb.
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