Shelter in Place

I know that most of you that are reading this are living in the state of Illinois and as of 5pm this evening on Saturday, March 21, 2020 there is a "shelter in place" ordered by the Governor of Illinois. I watched this news conference and the feeling of angst that I already had in the pit of my stomach began to grow. I have been practicing Faith over Fear and trying to fully rely on God during this pandemic, but I am only human and sometimes those human feelings of doubt and despair get the better of me. The hardest part for me during this time is not being able to see my close friends and some of my family members during this time. I also have three adult children; two of whom work in the healthcare field and one who works with the public, so I do fear for their health and safety at times. Once I heard the Governor say those words though, "shelter in place" I just couldn't get that phrase out of my head. I went to bed thinking about it and I woke up thinking about it. I started to do a little digging and here is what I discovered. Shelter In Place basically means that unless you need food, medical care, or you are transporting yourself to work or home from work- you should just stay home. UGH! I love being home, but I am also an extrovert and a teacher, so that does not make my heart happy. Then I started thinking about what "shelter in place" means as a Christian. Do I think of God as my shelter? My healer? My Father? In the bible there are 40 verses that refer to shelter. One you may be familiar with is Psalm 46:1-"God is our shelter and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble." Another one says, "If we have food and covering(shelter), with these we shall be content." 1 Timothy 6:8 And another, "But let all who take refuge in You be glad, Let them sing ever for joy;And may You shelter them, That those who love Your name may exult in You." Psalm 5:11 God is our shelter that has already been put into place for thousands of years. By the blood of his son Jesus we are His and He is ours. We have a constant shelter of love, peace, and comfort that comes from above, but we have to use our faith to overcome our fear. If we allow fear to seep into the cracks of our character then we will be susceptible to the evil of this world; selfishness, blame, jealousy, regret and most of all fear. We need to invite God into our lives and allow Him to be our "shelter in place." If you are fortunate enough to have a home, food and the means to live physically through this pandemic then you are blessed and you should share those blessings, but don't forget about your spiritual blessings too. Invite Jesus into your life, He is there and waiting. It is not a promise that you will instantly be rid of the fear and anxiety in your life, but it is a promise of hope for better things to come. In this day of instant gratification it is hard to imagine waiting and even hoping for things because unless we can see the results we can't fathom anything else. I would much rather be a person who hopes in the future than someone who lives in hopelessness today. Our shelter is in place and His name is God. He is still in control, He is still with us and He is waiting for us to give Him our fears, our hopes, our time and our love. Believing that Jesus is God's son and that he was crucified and then rose again is the only way that we can secure ourselves under the shelter of God. God is real. Jesus is real. This pandemic is real. You have a choice. You can live in fear and hopelessness, or you can tuck yourself under the shelter of God's love and grace and hope that there is something better than what this world has to offer and you are chosen to take part. Your invitation has been sent, will you choose to dwell in the shelter of God? I pray that you do and if you read this and have questions or you want to know more about Jesus and his invitation, please message me and I will be happy to talk with you or connect you with a pastor as well. Blessings-Nicole