“Is God moving in the midst of pandemic? Kasi may season 3 na ang ECQ wala pa rin nag babago.”
“I feel far away from God. Naka-lockdown din ba sa heaven?”
“Lord, eto na ata ang pinaka mahabang season na malayo ako sa’yo? Mahal mo pa rin ba ako?”
The pandemic anxiety is real. And the damage isn’t just affecting our economy and our mental health, but sadly it also damages our spirituality.
The pandemic forces us to physically distance ourselves from one another and the temptation of isolation is just right at the corner. Left unchecked, you’ll find yourself doing the very thing that you swore not to do—going back to your old life.
Kahit nangako na tayo sa sarili natin at sa Diyos, bakit paulit-ulit tayong nadadapa, nasasaktan at nagkakasala?
While we think of it as something new or unique, this is quite common in the Bible.
Through the Red Sea
1 Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the LORD, saying,
“I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously;
the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.
2 The LORD is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation;
this is my God, and I will praise him,
my father’s God, and I will exalt him. (Exodus 15:1-2)
Exodus 15 was the song that Moses and the Israelites sang after God delivered them in the hands of Pharaoh and his army. They just saw God parted the red sea.
But, if we go back to Exodus 14, moments before God parts the red sea, we’ll notice how they responded when they saw that they were being pursued by a great army.
10 When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the LORD. 11 They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” (Exodus 14:10-12)
God’s people cried out to grumble and doubt God’s capability to deliver them from the hands of Pharaoh and his army. This is a heartbreaking scene. Here are two things why:
- The Israelites who just experienced how awesome God was, cries out in fear. If there’s someone or a group of people who should know how God is transcendent and all-mighty, it should be them. They just saw how God sent the 10 plagues in Egypt, how God passed over them; saving every firstborn child in their midst, and then set them free from slavery.
- It is heartbreaking because we are one of them. In a time of success and comfort, I praise God, but when trials march after me, my initial response is to cry out of fear and worry.
But still, God saves them. He delivered them again.
And again, and again.
God’s miracles are not limited to our capabilities to understand and believe.
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God’s miracles are not limited to our capabilities to understand and believe. God moves based on His will and purpose, His invitation is for us to wait and see that He is able to do wonders amid any crisis, difficulties, and even a pandemic.
In the Wilderness
If we go back to another chapter, in Exodus 13, we’ll see why God led the Israelites in this kind of situation.
17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.” 18 But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle. (Exodus 13:17-18)
God already knew that His people have stubborn hearts, that the moment they see war or hardship they will return to Egypt. The wilderness is the only way for his people to learn, and experience God’s faithfulness and grace throughout generations. And passing through the Red Sea seals the deal.
God knew that the moment we followed Him, there would be a time that we’ll fail. He’s not surprised to see us fail, but He’s prepared to rescue us over and over again.
The wilderness in our lives are places where we truly experience God’s faithfulness, grace, and love. That’s just His mysterious ways.
Final thoughts
Deuteronomy is the conclusion of the Torah; the first 5 books of the Old Testament. In this passage, God makes it clear that the long journey in the wilderness was not only a punishment (see Numbers 32:13) but also a test.
2 And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. 3 And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. (Deuteronomy 8:2-3)
The amazing part of this revelation is, God already knew what’s in our hearts. So why did God say, “that He might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart,“? He wants you to see what is in your heart. God wants us to see it for ourselves. So that our obedience to Him will be a pure loving decision and an act of full surrender.
Hindi nagulat si God sa mga nagawa mo. Ang nakakagulat ay mahal ka pa rin Niya sa kabila nang lahat ng mga nagawa mo.
He knew us, yet still, He loves us anyway.
We may feel that God abandoned us sometimes, or we may forget how awesome God is in our lives, but that doesn’t mean His love decreases. Our walk with God may never be perfect, but we can always go back to the place where He found us.
This is our hope, that “2 Through [Jesus Christ] we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (Romans 5:2-4)
God knew that the moment we followed Him, there would be a time that we’ll fail. He’s not surprised to see us fail, but He’s prepared to rescue us over and over again.
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Cue mo na po GG Vibes:
“Bakit nga ba mahal kita
Kahit ‘di pinapansin ang damdamin ko
‘Di mo man ako mahal, ito pa rin ako
Nagmamahal nang tapat sa ‘yo
Bakit nga ba mahal kita
Kahit na may mahal ka mang iba”
P.S.
Si Lord ata talaga kumanta ng “Bakit nga ba mahal kita.”
Photo by Gadiel Lazcano on Unsplash
Enduring Generation 