Isolation, Temptation and Federation

So here we are, locked up for -- what? the last eight months. Maybe not, but I'm sure it can feel that way. I, however, am considered an "essential employee." Working in transportation, delivering compression socks and palm sanders and soundbars and air fryers and whatever else people order when they're sitting at home bored for weeks on end, is "essential." I don't like it. I was sick a couple of months back, I was sick last week, I have autoimmune issues to begin with, and the people I care for are particularly susceptible; they are depending on me to stay healthy and keep them safe. It might be a little easier if I could convince myself I am saving a life or making a difference toward containing this pandemic rather than spreading it. But that's where I am.

Then there are those who are, as I said, sitting at home. Bored. Unemployed. Unable to finish school among their friends. Prohibited from attending meetings or end-of-the-year celebrations. Emotionally drained and socially shut down, they have had fights, meltdowns, and have, on occasion, engaged in bad behavior. These people have gone nuts!! I, an introvert -- and happily so -- am trying to relate. I am trying to help our youngest housemates put into words what they are thinking. I am trying to be sympathetic toward those stuck at home, those labelled "non-essential" or being forced to do schoolwork in their pajamas. I am trying to understand the strain on those saving on fuel, needing only to walk to the kitchen to get lunch from my refrigerator. I am trying to remember the agony of being bored and trying to care that my family members are upset because they are away from "real people." But, that's where they are, and I have no clue what they are going through.

But God is in all of this, and the Holy Spirit showed it to me in Hebrews 4:14-15: 

"Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin." (emphasis mine)

Our Friend, the Lover of our soul, our Creator, our Savior and King doesn't have to try. He gets it! He could not have been tempted to fear unless He was put in some pretty dicey circumstances. He would not have been tempted to stress out unless His future had been uncertain in some way. He would not have been tempted to lie or cheat unless He'd experienced a time in which things just weren't working out as He'd like. He would not have been tempted to take matters into His own hands unless He'd gone hungry. He knows our hearts, and all the emotions with which we are being confronted are ones that confronted Him as well. 

Imagine, going through your worst day ever. Eleven of your closest friends are with you. It would have been twelve, but one of them is waiting to hand you over to the authorities on not-even-thoughtfully-constructed bogus charges. You head to a quiet place and ask them to pray, specifically confessing to a few of them, you are "overwhelmed to the point of death." Repeatedly, you find them sleeping -- not watching or praying as you asked. You've done so much for them, given them so much. Your very life hangs in the balance, and your besties are sleepy, their stomachs full after a delicious dinner and a soothing foot wash. That, my friend, is alone. That is abandonment and upheaval. That is a poverty beyond empty pockets. That is stress and fear and -- yeah, He didn't. He was, I'm sure, tempted to bail, tempted to get in a disciple's face, tempted to point to Himself and cry out, "Does anyone care what I'm going through?" After He resisted Satan in the wilderness, the Bible tells us Satan would return "at a more opportune time." Wouldn't the Garden of Gethsemane have been one of those times? Do you think Satan didn't whisper, "Why does it have to be You? Why isn't He down here?" Do you think Satan didn't propose Jesus do it his way -- a way that wouldn't require Jesus endure all He did? "Merely pledge allegiance to me, the Father of Lies, and I will make this all go away." But Jesus turned His will over to the Father, saying effectively, "I do not want to go through this if possible, but ultimately, I will do Your will." He was pressed but He would not fear; He was abandoned by men, but trusted completely, His Father. He did not fight for His life; He laid it down, instead, and believed His Father's plan. 

This pandemic, whatever we are feeling, whatever our fears, He understands. Whether we are struggling with God's purpose for all of this, and our role in that, or struggling to make ends meet. Whether we have loved ones that have become ill, or loved ones who have refused to help us. Whether we are feeling more alone than ever before; whether the clutter and chaos of our overloaded living space is driving us nuts. Whether we don't know what we're supposed to believe, or we're terrified of what we've heard. Let us not follow or fall prey to the Adversary. Trust Jesus. He knows just what we're going through.