Good morning, Lord Jesus. As best as I can and all by Your grace, I entrust this day and my life into Your hands and Your will -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...
I went into the grocery store this weekend and noticed the big sign on the door, "Face Mask Required." And of course, everyone was wearing their mask. But though we were all together in a crowded place, albeit six feet apart, it still felt really lonely. Gone were the warm smiles and welcoming greetings we're accustomed to in the south, even among strangers. And it felt a little like we were all suffering from the leprosy of loneliness through this disease of distance.
The Scripture came to mind of the Old Testament leprosy laws: "The person who has the leprous disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head be disheveled; and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, 'Unclean, unclean.' He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp" (Leviticus 13:45-46).
Lord Jesus, we need You to come into our loneliness. We need You to heal our disease of distance. Connect us in love. Cure us with kindness. Cause our eyes to smile even when our mouths can't or at least can't be seen. Fill us afresh with a joy that can't be silenced and a hope that can't be suppressed.
And just as this disease and these masks seem to separate us from one another, there is no greater sickness or disease than the sin that separates us from You. There's no deeper loneliness than living a life apart from You -- for these few moments on earth and for every moment of our eternity.
Without You, we'll be forever "unclean." And without You, we'll be forever lonely. So even use all we're going through in our world to draw every soul who will respond into the embrace of Your love and the mercy of Your grace. You're not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance by turning to You and receiving Your healing, saving love (2 Peter 3:9). "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).
Give me eyes to see the unclean and the lonely around me today. With a smile in my heart, with the kindness of my eyes, with the power of a prayer or with the encouragement of a word, let another soul come to know You and Your love today. May they live out the rest of their lives on this earth and throughout all eternity with no leprosy of loneliness and no disease of distance between You and them, where no mask is required. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you may be filled with a joy that cannot be silenced and a hope that cannot be suppressed, letting the kindness and love of the Lord flow through you -- wether through your prayers or in person -- to touch the life of someone who feels lonely or unclean today, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your reflections or experiences on silence and prayer in the comment box below.
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