Habakkuk 2:1

I will take my stand at my watchpost and station myself on the tower, and look out to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint.

I prayed. That is my answer to yesterday’s question about what I did during the shutdown.

I include this quote from Habakkuk for two reasons. One is that of standing watch and waiting. The other reason concerns my complaints during that time.

So often we take our complaints to the Lord over issues in life that are out of our control. The COVID shutdown was my example yesterday and I feel it would be good to go over some very human emotions we might have all had at the time.

Having served in Vietnam I have some experience on standing watch when my life was in jeopardy and my performance on watch duty meant something serious. Not many of us are familiar with a “listening post”. Before the invention of electronic monitoring it was the human ear that was called into duty, in the dark, alone, more than 100 yards outside the camp’s perimeter.

The COVID shutdown was isolating but most of us were not alone. Most of us with families had support in praying about those things we complained about then. We had someone to help take over our prayer vigil. We had someone to talk to and share our observations.

How long did we continue to pray about COVID and the health of the elderly and the vulnerable? If I am to be honest, it wasn’t long enough. I could have stayed more focused on the danger at hand rather than allowing my mind to drift off into the landmines of complaints.

Why do I continue to constantly bring up references to war?

Ephesians 6:12

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

When we complain we lose focus on where the real battle is being fought.

Galatians 5:22-24 English Standard Version

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Since we have been talking about trust lately it was inevitable that thoughts would arise such as antitrust. 

Have we all crucified our fleshly passions and desires?

If we have not, does that mean we do not love Christ?

Going negative is the easiest thing to do. We can be happy and in a great mood and all it takes is a word from an acquaintance or a news report and our whole countenance changes. A good thought is harder to hold than a greased pig. For those of us that have not enjoyed that sporting event, it is so hard it is funny to watch.

Let me test you.

COVID

It is hard to see anything remotely similar to the fruits of the spirit at the mere mention of that word. It has impacted us all, even if we have not contracted it. Perhaps the first signs of loss of trust was a run on paper towels. Everyone was cleaning every surface in their house for fear of this new plague that had hit the world.

That is just one word and its impact has had a lasting negative impact on all of our lives, not because we have lost faith but because everyone around us had gone negative. The blame games began immediately and those institutions we trusted all seemed to fail us. Or did they?

Allow me to quote a part of the opening verses. “against such things there is no law”.

Antitrust is all about the law which cannot protest and can only unevenly punish those who break the law. I included the word unevenly to demonstrate how easy it is to go negative.

We live in a world that constantly challenges our faith and begs us to go negative.

Answer me this; what did you do during the COVID shutdown?