By Eddie Lombard
Hebrews 10:24-25 (NIV)
24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Reflections of an anxious brother
Will we really stop meeting together?! As we all know by now, our normal Sunday gatherings at CCM have stopped. I must confess when our President called a stop to all meetings over 100 people, real anxiety set in. This idea really bothered me and I didn’t know why…
I have been coming to this church building on most Sundays for so many years now that I saw going to church as coming here to this place. The thought of not doing that on a Sunday scared me. What will I do now on a Sunday? I suppose deep down I was wondering who I am if I am not doing what has become so much of a routine in my life on a Sunday for so many years. It was not until one evening last week that the Lord through His grace and His word gave me peace again.
Now that I look back, the Lord called me to “Repent and Believe” – to trust Him. Here are some of the things I had to repent of and trust Him in again:
- God is in control: Part of my anxiety was caused by not trusting that the Lord has this under control. I suppose one of the big things the virus does to us is remind us we are not as big and strong and in control as we would like to be. When our idol of control is shaken, we look for things we can control and I was no different. The fear that has taken hold in the word was in my heart too, but God in His grace helped me see.
In the Lord’s sovereignty, one of our family Bible readings in the last week was Psalm 77. The Psalm starts with the psalmists crying for help to the Lord, “my soul refuses to be comforted vs 2”. Immediately it got my attention because that is what was in my heart. As we read further I saw the psalmist speaking to himself and saying: remember the “Lord’s deeds … of long ago” vs 11. The psalmist was meditating (vs 12) on the Lord’s mighty deeds (vs 12) the Passover lamb, the Red Sea crossing. It was in that action of the Lord in days long ago that he found comfort for his soul in the present. Psalm 77 reminded me and made me reflect and meditate on the perfect Passover Lamb, Jesus’ blood on the cross, the Lord’s deeds of long ago. I was reminded again that He is in control and I can find comfort for my soul in Jesus Christ, in His death and resurrection long ago. I had to repent and believe. - Church is about one another: some of my emotions this week included anger. I felt angry because the virus was messing up my perfectly-crafted life and its routines that I was accustomed to and which I loved. I did not want to change my life’s routines. Sunday gatherings gave me a sense of security. Now that we were not gathering, I felt insecure. Was I coming to church to get my security or was I coming to church to encourage one another to love and good deeds? (Hebrews 10) I would like to say I was coming to encourage others, but now my emotions were questioning that. Church had become about me and how it made me feel. Hebrews 10 vs 24 clearly says we gather to encourage one another to love and good deeds. For me, church had become about encouraging myself to love and good deeds.
In some way, in my own sinful heart, church had become me. (Sin is so infectious, Covid-19 can’t hold a candle to it.) Hebrews 10 reminds us that the day is approaching when Jesus will come back and will expose all of our sin. So, especially now, with the Day approaching, I need to see my sin and the danger it holds; I desperately need to turn back to Jesus in repentance and faith.
In closing, we should not give up “meeting together”. Church should happen in our homes. We should continue to gather around Jesus, through his Word, in the power of his Holy Spirit. It may look different from house to house – In our home, I will lead, and by God’s grace, some single Christian family members may join us. In doing this, we will spur one another on to love and good deeds and encourage one another, especially as we see the day approaching.
Prayer points
- Pray that households will meet on Sunday so that our great God and Saviour can be praised.
- Pray that we will overcome the fear of change and trust that the Lord is Sovereign.
- Pray that lives will be changed and that we, the redeemed family of servants on mission, will live out our lives in these new and different times.