To be sure the events of the last week have overwhelmed so many of us. Every day things are changing. Events are being canceled. School schedules are changing. We are all walking in the wilderness of a new way of life.
Walking in the wilderness began our Lenten journey with the story of Jesus being tempted there. Walking in the wilderness continues our Lenten journey as we go back to the people of God in the wilderness after escaping slavery in Egypt. The change in our day-to-day activities is asking us to adjust rapidly and think of how our decision to be present may be perpetuating a virus that can hide sometimes for as long as fourteen days. The change in our day-to-day activities is asking us to trust in something bigger than ourselves.
Perhaps you didn’t mean to find yourself in the wilderness even in the middle of Lent. Perhaps you don’t want to be in the wilderness of uncertainty of a virus that is spreading all around you. Perhaps you don’t want to be in the wilderness of social distancing. Wilderness walking always challenges always frustrates and almost always reveals our hunger and thirst for food and water, but also for the safety and security of control.
May you rest in the assurance in the midst of this wilderness walking that you are not alone. The same God that walked with God’s people in the desert via a cloud by day and a pillar of fire at night is with you. The same God who was tested and tempted in the wilderness is with you. You are not alone. Creator God is walking with us all.