Deeper Longings with Jacob A.
20 April 2020
Hi everyone, I’m Jacob, one of the elders at RHC and it’s a privilege to be able to share something in our Deeper Longings series.
Social distancing, which was increasing all over the world, has come to Singapore with the latest measures. And different people may be reacting to it in different ways. For some of us who are extroverts, this is awful and one of the worst things that could happen. But for some of us who are introverts, there may actually be some relief that we don’t have to see as many people. Now, for many, this is an especially difficult time as there is a huge hit to income and job security. But even if your job is safe, suddenly, there are a number of things that you may have used to do that you can’t do anymore. Travel plans have been postponed, gyms are closed or exercise classes cancelled. We can’t hang out with friends or colleagues for a drink or a coffee or a bite to eat. We can’t go catch a movie or go to the theatre. In a society where it usually feels like there isn’t enough time to do all the things we want to do, we probably have a lot more time to ourselves than we’ve ever had before.
Now, I think this extra time could be a blessing in disguise for our spiritual lives. Even while we are distant from each other, we can be closer to God. When we feel isolated and alone, it can heighten our longing and focus on Him. In fact, it says in Luke 5:16 that even Jesus, who clearly already had an intimate walk with God, would withdraw to desolate places and pray. Now, couldn’t He have just done His prayers in the morning or at night with the disciples? But instead, He physically removed himself and separated himself from all his friends and disciples for periods of time to focus on God and prayer, to refresh and rejuvenate himself. IN James chapter 4 it says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you”. There seems to be a very definite link here in the proximity we feel to God and the steps we take towards Him. But drawing to him necessarily means drawing away from other things in the world - social events, friends, and even family sometimes. Our lives are so full that often we rarely get around to doing this. And now, as we are forced to draw away from some of these things because of social distancing, there’s a risk that we fill that free time completely with either more work, as the lines between home and work get more blurred, or more time with family, or more time with Netflix. While none of these things are bad things in themselves, we can easily fill all the spare time we now have with them. Let us also take the opportunity to follow Jesus’ example and deliberately spend more time seeking God’s presence.
What could this look like? Well, personally, I’ve found that singing in worship and reading through the Psalms can be a great aid to do this when you get alone by yourself. It can be a tremendous time of refreshing as we are ministered to by the Spirit and the Word of God. And finally, we should reflect on the One who went through social distancing much worse than anyone of us will ever have to. We’ve had to give up some luxuries in meeting with friends but Jesus gave up everything that He had, including even separation from God the Father, and went alone and scorned to die on the cross that we would be saved. And because of Him, we are never really alone because He has promised to be with us always even until the end of the age.
Let’s pray. Lord, we lift our eyes to you and bring our hearts before you. We grieve over all we have done and all the times we have spent seeking after things in this world instead of you, the giver of all things. We grieve, also, for the suffering and death that is in this world because of this virus. And we are reminded, both, of our frailty and our mortality, but also, that we can look forward to the promise in your Word - that you are making all things new and that work has already started with the sacrifice for our sin that Jesus made on the cross. We pray for your strength and refreshing in this time of need. We pray, also, that you give us the means to help those who are affected much more than us. We pray all this in your mighty name. Amen.