Reading: Numbers 21:4-9
Scripture: “The people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord to take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. ” (Numbers 21:7)
Reflection: God can and does use anything to get our full attention and bring us back to Him. Today’s reading emphasizes that God has the power to use any situation in our lives to bring us to focus on Him. The Israelite people, after defeating the Canaanites, began to curse God, and His servant Moses. So, God allowed for an invasion of deadly snakes that bit and killed many of the Israelite people. Then, their eyes were opened to the reality of their state of sin and as a community, to confess and repent.
Sadly, our world has largely lost focus on that which is wholesome and virtuous; we are mean and selfish to each other and are consumed by things earthly. Too many of us in pre-COVID times, were caught up with the activities and routines of our daily lives and may even have found that we had taken God’s provisions for granted.
And, in similar fashion, the world is currently experiencing a type of “snake bite,” through the sting of the corona virus, which has affected just about every aspect of life in this sinful world. We feel the effects in a real way in the economies, jobs, schools, churches, relationships, and through the millions of lives lost. There is no doubt that the situation will continue to have a terrible effect on us, but, in all of this, we should not fail to see the big picture.
God is using the ‘bite’ of the corona virus to call us back to a real, genuine intimate relationship with Him; a relationship in which we understand that we have no power in and of ourselves, but only through Him. We must trust in His power, and take comfort in the knowledge that though we often push Him away, He has never stopped offering us His mercy and grace.
We are called, in these very trying and difficult times, to reignite and add fire to our relationship with Him, however weak or strong it may have been in the past. Let us, from an awareness of our sinfulness, confess our sins and place our trust wholly in Him. May we remember that God can and will use anything to get our attention and bring us back to Himself.
Meditation: “Just as I am, though tossed about with many a conflict, many a doubt, fightings and fears, within, without, O Lamb of God, I come.” (CPWI #504)
Prayer: O Lord our God, You call us as Your people to repentance. Lord we thank You for Your mercy, and we are sorry for taking You for granted. May we live our lives genuinely for Your glory. Amen.
The St. Jude’s Writers
St. Jude’s Church
Stony Hill
Anglican Diocese of Jamaica and The Cayman Islands
Monday, 15 March 2021
