Hidden in God's Hand

What a difference a year makes.

Last fall, I preached from Isaiah 51 to my home congregation when they reopened after a lengthy Covid hiatus. We had opened fully twice that summer, for important reasons, but that was pretty much it. These words from Isaiah were originally directed to God’s people as they were in exile and getting ready to return. So started a scripture series on the return of the exiles, and our people coming back to their sanctuary in stages after a long time away.

Fast-forward to last weekend, and these words were shared with a much smaller congregation who have been back in the sanctuary since April. Their situation is a fair bit different, but these words of promise and comfort are no less needed.

Like many churches teetering on the brink of drastic change or even closure, where I currently serve our people need to consider some pretty deep questions. Having lost so many faithful during the pandemic, where do we go from here? Their exile from the building ended months ago, but their exile from those who died and who they couldn’t come together to grieve will go on until their own deaths. For such a close-knit congregation, these losses, which continue, hit hard. Their sense of exile also extends to exile from a once-bustling, thriving church which sent a record number to seminary.

I’m sure the exiles to Babylon in Isaiah’s time asked why a lot. Why has our temple been destroyed? Why do our enemies hate us so much? Why have we been separated from each other? Why are we being punished? Their exile had lasted so long that whole generations had never experienced their homeland. I’m guessing my current congregation is asking why a lot too - why aren’t my children and grandchildren embracing the faith? Why aren’t people coming anymore? Why isn’t our faithfulness being rewarded?

This week we are meeting with a facilitator to talk about where we are and where we feel led to go. I’m eager for this conversation, as it is needed. As we ask these questions and face them together in community, the darkness of fear can be lifted. As we honestly wrestle with the answers, I pray that we are drawn even more closely to each other and to God, and that Spirit-directed ideas and reassurances will bubble to the surface.

Verse 3 of Isaiah 51 says that the Lord will comfort Zion “and will make her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the Lord”. I love that promise of a return to not only the lush green of the abundance of nourishing and nurturing plants but also to intimacy with God.

I have no idea what the outcome of the meeting will be or what we will feel God saying to us when we gather in community. But I do believe that God has covered us with blessing, and has a plan for us and good things in store, even if it involves things changing dramatically. As verse 16 says, we are hidden in the shadow of the hand of God and are God’s people. There is no safer place to be, especially when we are anxious and afraid.

No matter where your church is at, these words are for you. In your faithfulness and worry, questions and concern, there is always, always a way that God can turn desert into blooming gardens. The One who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth, who cut us from the secure rock of refuge and safety, still holds us and calls us and claims us. Our ancestors of the faith are still a great crowd of witnesses watching and cheering us on. Our God is still good.

May you be able to trust these words of possibility and rest secure in the shadow of God’s hand.