“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all of the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.” (1 Peter 5:8-9 NLT)
How easily we forget who battles for our soul. We get tied up in offenses and arguments with the flesh and blood beside us, all but asleep to the predatory presence of our Number One enemy. We wind up staying home and believing ourselves to be marked safe from emotional trauma. But still, the snake is ever slinking in the shadows: poking, prodding, playing with people’s emotions and lives, endlessly after yet another soul.
The Lord reminds us through Peter’s pen: stay awake! Never forget the carnivore on the loose and likely in the tall grass of our lives, looking for whom he may destroy. The Lord implores us: stand firm and stay awake! We are reinforce through songs and prayers and scriptures. And we recall, we not are not alone.
Spiritual isolation is the plot of the enemy. He works hard to make us believe that we are the only believer left on earth, the last man standing and so the battle is basically over. We may as well give up. This is quite a strategy: an individual is far easier to pick off than an entire company. If he can convince us of the benefits of our isolation, we are a lot more likely to cave to his tactics.
It seems to me that we are still living out the effects of quarantine. We have grown accustomed to amazon prime and zoom calls and round-the-clock pajama-time. Socialization is normally exhausting and now we are way out of shape relationally. Isn’t it easier to just stay home? After all, home is where we are most comfortable, surely it can’t be bad for us?
As cozy as our home is, comfort will not cause us to grow. And the Great Commission will not be fulfilled while we are in our jammies. ‘Go’ is a vital part of the instruction. And truly, isolation leads to spiritual deconstruction: we’ve made the enemy’s efforts so much easier when we refuse to leave the house.
I don’t know who needs to hear this, but it’s long past time to get off the couch: physically and spiritually. the clock is ticking and we still have a great deal of Great Commission to complete. Sure, we feel alone and like we may be the last man (or woman) still standing for Jesus, but that simply isn’t true. Isolation is the proclamation of the enemy, it’s a lie he shouts to keep us cut off from other believers. The truth is, there are men and women all over the globe still standing in faith. We’ve just got to get out there and find them, this won’t happen in our living rooms.
This is a season for the church to rally. It’s time to come together with other believers and encourage one another in the Lord. Coals separated cool, but coals brought together can be blown upon and eventually burst again into flame. Isolation leads to extinguishment, but congregation gives way to revival. Get up off the couch, phone a friend, start a Bible study, get coffee and talk about scripture. Go to church and bring someone along for the service and lunch afterwards. Chances are good that they are feeling just as lonely as you. Remember that the Great Commission has a due date and we are getting closer all the time.
“And let us not neglect the habit of meeting together as some people do, but encourage on another, especially now that the day of His return is drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:25 NLT)
Lord, forgive us for our isolation. We went home in fear two years ago, and like Elsa, have struggled to open the doors of our lives again. Convict us today. Connive us of the urgency of Your Great Commission. Help us identify the lion lying wait in our yard. Motivate us to move toward others in obedience to Your commandments. We simply cannot be a growing believer in our living room. We must let our lives and faith come in contact with others. Give us courage as we step out in obedience. Amen.