The Furnace of Affliction!

Along with its high infectivity and fatality rates, the Corona Virus Disease has caused universal psychosocial impact. The forced quarantine has produced acute panic, anxiety, and depression.  Many have committed suicide because of the stigma attached to it.  Some have died of heart attack as soon as they received the news that they were COVID positive. The major issue apart from the  dread, is the isolation and loneliness associated with the disease.  As soon as a patient is admitted to a hospital, the person is completely isolated from human contact, from family and friends which leads to depression.  Many are not able to handle such isolation!

Ezekiel experienced loneliness due to a different reason. He was the son of Buzi, a priest and usually priests trained from their twentieth year to be commissioned as priests in their thirtieth year. But Ezekiel was taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar and here he was sitting by the river Chebar in the land of the Chaldeans.  The opportunity of the priestly ministry was stripped away by the exile.  But the Lord took the priest-in-waiting and commissioned him as a prophet!  Apostle John endured persecution in the first century and experienced loneliness when he was exiled to Patmos.  But amidst his hopeless and helpless situation, in the midst of his disappointment and discouragement, we find the Lord in action!  the Lord gave John great apocalyptic visions of His second coming!  

The pandemic has forced many to live in isolation.  Families have been traumatized by being separated from the loved ones who are receiving critical care.  Some have lost their loved ones too. Many have lost their jobs and their livelihood.  Our situation may look hopeless in our eyes.  Do not be discouraged or disillusioned.  The Lord is testing us in the furnace of affliction not to destroy us but to give us a future and a hope. The same Lord who revealed Himself to Ezekiel and John will reveal Himself to us. 

My friend,  do not focus on the news or the happenings around you but look to the Lord and find comfort in His Word.   Let us join with the Psalmist and confess saying, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.  … Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever” (Psalm 23:4-6).

---