This will pass

My Bible reading this morning was from Isaiah 26 and one verse in particular was particularly apt for such a time as this:

“Come my people, go home and shut yourselves in. Go into seclusion for a while until the punishing wrath has passed” (Isaiah 26:20)

While Isaiah’s prophecy was for a particular people at a particular time who were in for a hard time and were looking for reasons why, it also gives us a bit of an insight into how we might respond to this current Coronavirus crisis. I wake up in the morning anxious about what’s coming, I worry about how I might lead my church through this and I am so very concerned for my community who thrive on human contact and need one another to get through the simplest stuff in life. To be honest, I’ve been tying myself up in knots a bit. 

This verse, it jumped out at me. It’s ok to stop. It’s ok to pause. It’s ok to hide. This virus will pass. You can’t control it, you’re not going to stop it, you’re going to have to ride this storm, it’s coming........ but it will pass. We don’t know what the other side of the storm will look like. It will be a painful journey.... but it will pass. There are better times ahead. 

For someone who likes to be in control, these words, whilst they do not take away the wrenching in my gut, they provide hope amongst chaos, light amongst darkness. The dawn is coming and it will arrive. This now - it will pass - deal with it as best you can and then embrace the change the new dawn brings. 

This virus is a symptom of our broken, fallen world - the illness - the panic - the non-joined up thinking. The inherent selfishness reflected in a trolley full of loo roll. The way we react needs to be wholly unselfish. How do we care for others who might be more vulnerable than us?

- that’s what the hand washing is about
- that’s what the self isolation on symptoms is about even if we ‘don’t feel that bad’ 
- that’s what choosing to not stockpile but instead redistribute is about
- that’s what looking out for our neighbours is about (check out the singing in Italy, the opportunities to volunteer in your own community, the ideas for offering coordinated help on the streets that are about) 
- that’s what the cancellation of an event we really wanted to go to is all about 
- that’s what all the hiding away is about

This virus will, at times of self isolation, and as the next months unfold, leave us nothing to depend on but God. Our faith will be tested, our trust will wain - but the truth is that the only thing that will remain constant is God. 

And as this virus orders us - forces us - into a time of stop - in our collective grieving and anxiety, frustration and fear, may we be overwhelmed by that peace that passes all understanding. As we close the doors behind us and only hear human contact in hushed tones beyond the walls, hear the voice that whispers - this will pass, this will pass, there is better to come.