As day 8 begins on the nation’s 15-day effort to curb the effect of the Coronavirus COVID-19, possibly your thoughts have been consumed, your sleep has been interrupted, and you are afraid of this world-wide pandemic.
The goal of today’s blog is to give you a place from which to receive help. The psalmist helps us.
Strengthen Your Faith
The psalmist encourages us to run into the sanctuary of God. The sanctuary provides what we need in the midst of this event to settle our minds, provide us hope, and give us courage. Notice how he describes it:
4 I have asked the LORD for one thing –
this is what I desire!
I want to live in the LORD’s house all the days of my life,
so I can gaze at the splendor of the LORD
and contemplate in his temple.
5 He will surely give me shelter in the day of danger;
he will hide me in his home;
he will place me on an inaccessible rocky summit.
6 Now I will triumph
over my enemies who surround me!
I will offer sacrifices in his dwelling place and shout for joy!
I will sing praises to the LORD! (Psalm 27:4-6)
The immediate context in Psalm 27 is protection from one’s enemies. In this instance, we are talking about protection from an invisible enemy – the Coronavirus. Notice what provides you – the faithful one – the encouragement, courage, and help you need.
You need to stop what you are doing and gaze upon the splendor of the LORD.
Related to the Coronavirus…
Ross summarizes this psalm, “When faced with false accusations the faithful will find the sanctuary of the LORD the place to strengthen their faith and seek with confident expectation divine protection and guidance. The desire of the psalmist to go to the sanctuary is not a desire to go to an empty place. It will only be a place of safety and encouragement if the presence of the LORD is evident. That will only happen if people are there praising the LORD for his wonderful works and encouraging one another to pray with confident expectation. The message of this psalm will not work if the sanctuary is empty and the people are silent.” [1]
How Do You Go to the Sanctuary?
You need to do at least three things:
- Read and meditate on God’s Word. Begin in the Psalms. Read them. Focus your attention on the character of God. Think about God’s character and His presence.
- Listen to Christian music. Here is a link to some of my favorite songs that may help from Spotify. (many different genres)
- Talk with other Christians. Reach out to them through social media, text, phone, or, if you can, in person. Discuss God’s faithfulness! Remind each other of the blessings and splendor of Jesus Christ.
[1] Allen P. Ross, A Commentary on the Psalms 1–89: Commentary, vol. 1, Kregel Exegetical Library (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2011–2013), 635.