We’ve been saying for quite a few years now that we’re just too busy; life is too complicated. That’s changed a little bit now, hasn’t it! I know for my family all but just a few things have been canceled. I’ve had a growing desire for some time now to spend more time with my family, doing more to shepherd my family to Jesus. You and I have been given just that opportunity! I want to encourage you to not waste it.

Will you join me on a journey into God’s presence during these few weeks of quarantine? We must learn something through this. Our world will be a different place when we emerge from virus land, why shouldn’t we be different as a people? We need more than anything to hear from the Lord during this time. I will ask a few things from you. First, pick a Psalm and start reading. I read #27 this morning. “The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom should I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom should I be afraid?” These are strong, applicable words right now! Eat them and allow them to become a part of your isolated existence over these next few weeks. Second, commit to a daily extended time of prayer. This means silence your phone, get away from all the others in your house, open your Bible and wait on the Lord. I also read Psalm 25 this morning: “Lord, I turn my hope to you…No one who waits for you will be put to shame.” Ask the Lord what He wants to teach you and wait for Him. Listen to Him. You don’t have anything better to do right now! Wait on the Lord. This daily practice will change your life.

We see plenty of examples in the Word of people who refused to wait on the Lord. The one that came to my mind today is Lot. You remember him. He’s Abraham’s nephew. As long as Lot was with his faithful uncle he enjoyed all the blessings of the Lord. But the time came for them to separate; for Lot to grow up on his own. It is very clear he never took the time to hear from the Lord. When he chose land he ran straight toward the cities and the places of prominence. The problem was the city he ran to was Sodom. He got exactly what he asked for. The city reeked of sin and rebellion. They hated God and anything He was involved in. Lot’s family tried to survive there but in the end lost all semblance of faithful, righteous living. When the time came for them to get out they were given specific instructions. One in particular stands out: “Don’t look back!” Even in the face of destruction they didn’t want to leave. They had to be dragged out of the city! As they were walking the path out of town Lot’s wife followed his example of years of faithlessness and looked behind her. She immediately turned to a pillar of salt. The story goes on to tell us that Lot was afraid to live in the town they ran to so he led his daughters up into the mountains. Lot’s story ends with his daughters getting him drunk and having sex with him in a cave. The offspring of that union was a constant source of agitation for Israel. Lot missed the Lord and paid for it every day of his life.

Believer, we must not miss the Lord during this time of confusion and upheaval. Is the Lord concerned with the Coronavirus? Absolutely. Has it rocked Him? Did it catch Him off guard? Does He know where we need to go from here? Without a doubt. Corona is not His first rodeo. Remember SARS, Ebola and the Spanish Flu? How about when Small Pox wiped out entire South American nations when European explorers first came over? Or the time a disease called the Black Plague swept Europe? Did God start this disease to punish us? Not at all. Will He use this disease to draw us closer to Himself? If we let Him.

Don’t look back! Don’t spend your days thinking about what could have been or should have been…if China had done this…if Trump had done that… The media loves to live in the past. They play the blame game constantly. We cannot live that way. Our focus is on the present and the future. “What does God want from me today?” This can be a time for us to seek the Lord like we haven’t sought Him in a generation. Our land is parched for news of Living Water; it is swollen for lack of the Word of Life. Revival and restoration will not start en masse. Healing starts at home. It starts with you and me on our knees, crying out to the Lord for renewal. It starts with us waiting on Him to show us the Way to walk, His Way. Don’t look back, look up!