Springtime in the mountains is evident from the view out my window as I work from home. My morning routine begins, as it does with so many of us, with those first few sips of coffee. Familiar, gratifying. Oddly, without rush, now, as the semester is taught online and a statewide shelter-in-place order.
Also without rush is the routine of spending morning moments in God’s Word: my Quiet Time. I am grateful for these familiar and satisfying routines in this most unusual and uncomfortable semester.
So many verses and passages have spoken into my life loudly, but one of recent, great impact has been Psalms 78:19. “They (the children of Israel) spoke against God: they said, ‘Can God really spread a table in the wilderness?’”
Wow, what an image, of a banquet table piled high with indulgent, delicious food! The following verses tell us that God “opened the doors of the heavens and gave them all the food they could eat!”
Here are a few displays of how God has set a table for me – an indulgent banquet table in the wilderness of this pandemic, and what I have found He wants me to learn.
While presented with this unfamiliar, cumbersome dilemma of how to keep our distance from each other, Christ says, “Come, find a spot up close, and sit with Me in my presence!” “Social distancing” has quickly moved from a phrase we didn’t even know before, and now it is the norm. But, hallelujah, we can still “draw near” to Christ! In this time of pandemic, we are encouraged to wear a mask. I am reminded that, beautifully, we are asked to “come as we are,” no masks, no inhibitions … God is our Protector.
Surrounded by lack — not enough equipment, tests, food, etc., in Christ, we have all we need! Christ is our Sufficiency. I am reminded beautifully from Psalm 23:1, “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.” Christ is sufficient to meet my every need.
This pandemic has resulted in many losses. But our Provider comes through again; replacing them with a plethora of gains:
New shapes to my friendships. More time (albeit virtually) to be with them.
Fresh approaches to my teaching.
A beautiful new fellowship of faculty joining to study God’s Word together for the first time any of us can remember! Amazing! This is God’s banquet table showing proud!
Instead of feeling limited, and confined, I see so many new choices and joys …. Right in the middle of the danger, there are surprisingly safe new choices. Career norms have evolved; interactions with students are more personable. Everyone has been a bit more vulnerable, and somehow, many of the “safety masks” have been shed. After these several long weeks, students and colleagues alike seem less reticent to reflect and share. God is compelling me to respond to this crisis with a clearer view and bolder path of following Him.
Let’s sit and partake of God’s Banquet Table!
Priscilla Porterfield
Appalachian State University