I am sitting in the lounge where we’re currently living, feeling mentally quashed after reading abrasive headlines about the Omnicron Covid variant, and the Delta variant is still there… and it really is all doom and gloom. But in the silence all around me (the children are asleep!), I sense God reminding me that I am alone in this room. It’s quiet apart from the hum of the kitchen boiler next door. There’s a sense of peace. There’s no Omnicron monster charging at me. That’s not to say the threat isn’t real (get your vaccine!) but instant online media can make you feel that Covid is hiding under the table or ready to pounce the minute you step outside: invisible, omnipresent, all-powerful.

The virus has generated a perverse and somewhat confused marketing machine; which projects the disease as some kind of god, empowered by mixed messages by authorities. We’re all subject to its whims and terrifying effects. Yet the truth is that God alone is truly invisible, omnipresent and all-powerful. The fact he is all-powerful means we have no rational reason to fear anything, if we’ve surrendered our hearts to his love. I know that those words may not help. It’s hard to ‘feel it’ when the reality of your situation seems so different. I expect the disciples in the boat, as the storm hit and the waves came in, didn’t feel it either as Jesus slept. They were just terrified. I think quite a few of us are feeling a kindred negative rub with this pandemic right now, especially with Christmas on the horizon.

A few weeks ago I was feeling sorry for myself and God spoke to me from this simple sentence I read in Isaiah 40:9: ‘Get yourself up on a high mountain’. I wasn’t really reading the Bible at the time, just flicking pages and wondering what to read when this verse jumped at me. I understood what the Lord was saying. Be sensible in lifestyle at this difficult time but break free from fears. Push yourself up onto a pinnacle and see the bigger story. God has a great plan for humanity, and that includes you and me! Get yourself up on a high mountain and, with his help, see! Just see!
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Father God, thank you for loving me unconditionally. I belong to you and I have hope for the future. I have every reason to think positively as I look to the time ahead. You are with me and my loved ones. Help me to put aside any doubts and find space to get myself up on a high mountain with you: Precious Jesus. Amen.