As the days in lockdown continue with few clear signs of how this period will end or how any kind of normality can be resumed in times of pandemic, it’s easy to lose heart, to feel overwhelmed and to simply want to give up. Most of us can cope with stress and abnormality for limited periods of time; after that, adrenaline runs out and we feel the slump of lethargy and lassitude, leading to depression and discouragement. The days blur into one; our lives seem so hemmed in and restrictions abound. How do we find the strength to carry on?

Today I have been reading Psalm 51, a psalm written after David’s adultery and murder, a psalm of repentance and longing for restoration. I find much in this psalm that resonates with me, especially verses 10-12. David prays, ‘Create in me a pure hert, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.’ (Ps 51:10) Steadfastness means we are resolute, unwavering, able to stand firm. How I need a steadfast spirit at this time.

He goes on to pray, ‘Do not cast me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me.’ (Ps 51:11) Ultimately, we need to be totally assured of God’s presence with us (Matt 28:18-20, Heb 13:5) if we are to have the strength to continue in these difficult times. Ultimately, we need God’s Holy Spirit living within us to bring living water to the surface so we are nurtured and fed.

Then he says, ‘Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.’ (Ps 51:12) Nehemiah tells us that the joy of the Lord is our strength. (Neh 8:10) We need to choose to worship God and to praise Him, because then, as joy resurfaces in our souls, we find the strength to carry on. We find the mental resilience to keep going, rather than surrendering to despair. We also need that willing spirit to sustain us, the willingness to be made willing, in some ways. So often, our problems start with our attitudes and our unwillingness to learn the secret of being content in any and every situation. (Phil 4:12)

Ps 51 teaches us how to pray from a place of repentance and weakness. Today, we can pray for:

• a pure heart

• a persevering spirit

• an awareness of the presence of God

• the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives

• the pleasure of salvation to be restored to us

• a trusting spirit

• the ability to teach others God’s ways

• people to turn back to God

• a praising mouth

• the transformation of our society

Stephen spoke tonight about trust, asking us the question ‘What are we putting our confidence in?’ At the moment, we are urged to put our trust in hand sanitizer, in washing our hands for 20 seconds, in social distancing and in isolation, not to mention in the Government’s decisions, but the truth is that our trust should always remain in God. ‘In God we trust‘ is the motto of the United States of America, but it should be the experience of each believer.

Fear is often the spur to trust. We are often afraid, perhaps feeling life is out of our control or feeling insecure. The Bible frequently talks about the fear of the Lord being the beginning of wisdom, but it is often also the pathway to trusting God. (Ex 14:31) God does not change and fearing Him can be found in both the first and last books of the Bible. This leads to trust, which acts like a bridge, allowing us to travel from one side of the river to the other with safety.

Ps 13:5 reminds us to trust in God’s unfailing love and Ps 62:8 tells us to trust in Him at all times. When we do this, we find trust will overcome fear, bring us security and will act as a refuge for us. Jer 17:7 reminds us that ‘blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him.‘ God is solid, a firm foundation, the One who will never let us down. In difficult times, as in peaceful times, we need to put our trust in God.

Garry spoke this morning from Isaiah 56:1-8 on the subject of ‘Sabbath’. Isaiah addresses three kinds of people in these verses: the people of the covenant (Israel), those who were considered imperfect in some way or other which prevented them from gaining access to God’s family and foreigners (who were regarded as outsiders), and the revolutionary message he brought was that all would be accepted by God if they kept the Sabbath and did what was right.

The Sabbath was inaugurated by God and can sometimes be regarded as simply Old Testament doctrine and therefore irrelevant nowadays in the days of the new covenant. Whilst some of the laws in the Old Testament (e.g. the ceremonial, sacrificial laws) have been superseded by Jesus’s sacrifice, there is still much in the Old Testament of relevance to us. We are not to become legalistic about the Sabbath, for Jesus made it plain that the Sabbath was made for man and not the other way around (Mark 2:27), but the Sabbath is God’s idea, a day of rest, a day that was to be holy to God. (Ex 16:23)

The primary meaning of Sabbath rest is to leave what is normally done throughout the week and to focus attention on God. God rested from His work of creation on the Sabbath (Gen 2:2), not because He was tired or needed physical rest (as we undoubtedly do) but because His work of creation was finished. For us, the Sabbath is a change of focus as well as a time of rest and recuperation; it enables us to set our faces once again towards God, rather like scales need recalibration at times.

The Sabbath puts other things into perspective and helps us to see the world through God’s eyes. So often, we can have our vision distorted (the daily news briefings on the coronavirus pandemic can easily cause us to lose heart and fear), but as we set our faces towards God and cease from our work, we acknowledge His Lordship and are strengthened by Him. Sabbath enables to us change our focus, to commune with God, to recalibrate our souls and to get God’s perspective on life.

It’s the weekend again, another Saturday in lockdown. We reach the weekend and think, ‘so what?’ For many of us, the days are all beginning to blur into one and it’s like living through ‘Groundhog Day’ yet again. Another day when the most exciting thing we will get to do is go for a walk (now we know how dogs feel, perhaps!) It’s very easy to feel helpless and hopeless in these situations.

I find that it’s the sense of powerlessness that grates the most. We’re used to thinking of ourselves as competent and capable, and yet the truth is that much of life ordinarily is beyond our control. We can’t control the weather (and I’m very grateful it’s been so mild and sunny recently, as that does lift the spirits!) We can’t control other people. We can’t control if the bus is on time or when something breaks down. So powerlessness and helplessness really ought to be familiar to us. The trouble is we are very good at pretending and smoothing over those ‘uncontrollable’ things with all the things we can control. We can choose what to wear. We can normally choose where we go and what we do. We can choose and plan holidays. All those things give us an aura of being in control and so we forget the helplessness which now threatens to consume us.

One of my favourite chapters in the Bible is 2 Chronicles 20. It’s part of the historical writings, telling us about the history of God’s people. It’s the story of a tough time for God’s people when armies rose up against them, armies that seemed big, terrifying and much more powerful than God’s people. Already, I’m drawn in. Don’t we all feel there are enemies more powerful than we are? The ‘war’ terminology has been used a lot by politicians lately, and if a huge army isn’t bad enough, an invisible virus can feel pretty scary.

The king’s response to this threat was to turn to God and to seek Him – and that’s something that stirs my heart, because suddenly that’s something I can do too. I might not be able to work in a hospital or drive a lorry or even serve in a shop, but I can turn to God. I can seek Him. Jehoshaphat said, ‘If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.’ (2 Chron 20:9) I can do that. We can do that. We can stand in God’s presence and cry out to Him in our distress and we can know that He will hear us and save us.

Prayer often starts as we are in trouble and recognise that the trouble we’re facing is beyond our ability to solve. We can’t solve a pandemic. We can’t solve so many of the problems of the world – poverty, climate change, personal relationships and so on, even though we may well have things we can contribute that will solve the problem. Jehoshaphat said, ‘For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.’ (2 Chron 20:12) I think that’s how many of us feel right now. We feel powerless. We don’t know what to do. But our eyes can be turned to God.

When we do this, standing together before the Lord, fixing our eyes on Him, things start to change. God spoke through His prophet, Jahaziel: ‘Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.’ (2 Chron 20:15) Suddenly, the people did know what to do, because God told them what to do. He gave them instructions, and bizarre though these instructions seemed (sending out the musicians at the head of the army!), they worked because they were God’s instructions. (2 Chron 20:15-17, 21-22) God set ambushes against the armies; the enemy was defeated, even though they had seemed so powerful.

We need to understand that our powerlessness and helplessness are not the end of the world. They are the spur to turn us to God. When we turn to Him in our distress, He steps in. He is not powerless or helpless. He is the Almighty God. He is the One who breaks the bow and shatters the spear. (Ps 46:9) He is the One who makes wars cease and who turns weakness into victory. He is our ever-present help in trouble. (Ps 46:1)

The people’s part in this victory was not insignificant, but it looked (quite frankly) crazy. They had to sing, ‘Give thanks to the Lord, for His love endures for ever.’ (2 Chron 20:21) That was it. That was their part. All the rest was done by God.

I would say that this is still our part in the victory today. Stand up and praise. Stand up and sing. In the words of Luke Hellebronth’s song, ‘Stand Up’,

‘Stand up, everybody, stand up

Come on, lift your eyes up,

See the king.

Our God, such a mighty fortress,

You are with us, for us,

Jesus our King.’

I have been thinking a lot about memorial stones lately, partly following the death of my father. I’m not a sentimental person and the plethora of headstones and markers found in cemeteries don’t really do much for me, but there is a need in most of us to remember our loved ones and commemorate their existence in some way. We don’t want people to be forgotten; we know their value and want future generations to know this too.

In the Bible, we find memorial stones mentioned not so much to commemorate people, but to remember what God has done. They’re usually gathered together to make an altar to commemorate particular times when God appeared to people – to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, for example. Then we have the twelve stones at Gilgal, commemorating the fact that the Lord parted the river Jordan so the Israelites could cross over on dry land, just as He had parted the Red Sea to allow their escape from Egypt. (Ex 14-15, Joshua 4). The stones served to remind people of what God had done and to explain to future generations God’s miraculous dealings with His people.

In ancient times, these stories about the stones were passed down from generation to generation orally, and this is still the most powerful way of sharing what God has done. This is what we are commanded to do. (Ps 48:13, Ps 78:4, 6; Ps 79:13; Ps 89:1; Ps 102:18)

This period of lockdown is often described as unprecedented. It’s never happened before, even during war. Many families have taken to making journals or doing craft work, not only to pass the time, but to commemorate what we hope will be a unique time in our history. These efforts are, in effect, our memorial stones to 2020.

I hope we can take these efforts and use them not only to remember what it was like to live in lockdown, but to remember what God did for us in this period. I long to be able to exhibit some of these activities at the Dearne Community Arts’ Festival (hopefully held in September 2020), but more than that, I am praying that our ‘memorial stones’ will remind us not only what it was like during this period but will be there to show future generations how God sustained us, provided for us, helped us and delivered us from all evil. Don’t throw way your ‘memorial stones’, but keep them to enable others to ponder anew what God does for His people, even in difficult times.

If there’s one phrase I’m heartily sick of hearing during this pandemic, it’s that the government’s actions are ‘being guided by the science.’ I understand what they intend us to hear from that phrase, but since this is a ‘new virus’, science has few definitive answers and the government’s actions will always have to take into account factors which are not scientific (including economic and political factors.) It’s frankly impossible to be guided by one thing alone.

Even in the Bible, when we talk about God guiding us (Ps 48:14), we can see He uses a variety of means to do this. Nicky Gumbel lists five methods in today’s ‘Bible in One Year‘ readings (the headings are his; the comments are mine.)

1. Commanding Scripture. Most of what we know is God’s will for us we know through studying the Bible. This is our first port of call when we are seeking guidance from God (though we need wisdom in interpreting what we find there, just as government ministers need wisdom and help in interpreting the scientific data currently).

2. Compelling Spirit. Our guidance is based on a personal relationship with our God. Just as Jesus was led by the Spirit (Luke 4:1), we too need to be led by the Spirit (Rom 8:14). Difficult and subjective though this may be, we cannot ever expect guidance to be anything other than personal and intimate. The sheep hear and know the shepherd’s voice. (John 10:1-18)

3. Counsel of the Saints. Nicky Gumbel reminds us that ‘we receive guidance in the context of community’, warning us against solitary, rash decisions (see Prov 12:15). Ultimately, the accumulated wisdom and prayerful advice of others can be helpful to us.

4. Common Sense. We must not rely on common sense (God frequently does ask us to do things which look illogical to us!), but neither must we despise it. God has given us intelligence and expects us to think through options sensibly.

5. Circumstantial Signs. These ‘circumstantial signs’ or ‘providence’ can be misleading because (again) they are open to interpretation (and therefore to misinterpretation), but, as Gideon demonstrated, sometimes they can be the way God confirms something to us (see Judges 6:36-40). It seems Paul used these signs, along with other means, to determine where he went on missionary journeys (see Acts 16:6-10).

All of us need God’s guidance daily and at these difficult times can be sure that He will lead us (see Ps 143:10).