Following God through the wilderness

“My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Exodus 33:14

In the Hebrew Bible we are reminded of the Exodus of the Israelites in the wilderness. They did not like the wilderness and were sorry they had left Egypt. God sent them manna, but the people got tired of eating manna. They wanted some meat. Forty years of journeying—the days were intense, hot, dry. The people were weary. They learned through every hard and grueling step how much they had to rely on God.

One year after the global pandemic, humanity has been forced to rethink the way we relate, work, have fun, celebrate, or even process our losses. Christians have been greatly affected because the very act of entering a building to gather, share, pray, sing, and study the Scriptures puts our health and our neighbor’s health at great risk.

We have been asked to stay home and seek new ways of being church. While many people have died and others are fighting to survive all over the world, having lost health, homes, jobs, and the ability to put food on the table, some of us are angry and complaining, unable to rely on God. How will we, as Christians, be remembered in history during this pandemic? As the Israelites in the wilderness?

This year of desert wandering has been difficult to endure. The hardest struggles we face have the greatest potential to teach us patience. Are Christians going to look back at this year as the most strengthening, faith-building time of our lives? Is the world going to look at Christians as those who did not miss the miracles of God’s provision out of busyness or stress, and who were always willing to be God’s instruments of grace and love?

God’s promise is still the same to us as it was to the Israelites: “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” We cannot enclose God in a building, in a tabernacle, in an image, not in liturgy, or in a certain creed. No pandemic will be able to destroy our faith, no Herod or Pilate will be able to kill God. No government will be able to abolish our beliefs, no culture will ever camouflage the Spirit.

As long as there are women and men of good will who, in the depths of their hearts, live the Good News of Christ the Risen Lord, God’s presence is with us as we reflect God’s love and grace to others. Be the presence of God and find rest and hope in God’s faithfulness.

Rev. Dr. Adalia Gutiérrez Lee
Area Director for Iberoamerica and the Caribbean