Intimacy In the Secret Place

This past year I learned to love Jesus more by, taking advantage of the slower pace of life, we in some ways had no choice but to take on. This of course was due to the current state of affairs we are walking through as a nation. A good way for me to set this up for you, would be to take you back to March 10, 2020. Around half past eleven that morning I had just gotten off a plane at Syracuse Airport, to meet my friend and colleague Lonnie, who was coming to pick me up. The day started off like any normal Tuesday, other than the days prior, there was a lot more coverage of what was being revealed as the coronavirus, and it’s rapid spreading in the United States. I knew to be careful traveling, but beyond that I didn’t think too hard on it.

Lonnie eventually arrived and we went about our day, which included lunch at Chick-fil-A, and plans to watch a movie. Knives Out was the film, and if you haven’t seen it, I definitely recommend it. As we were preparing to leave the theater, Lonnie made me aware that he had received many messages telling him that Cornell had developed a plan to respond to the increase in cases of the coronavirus. This is where things began to quickly unravel. We made a stop to SUNY Courtland, where no plans had been announced yet, but of course some talk was happening as we ate dinner with the men’s community group there. I was really hit hard when Lonnie and myself eventually arrived at Cornell University for a student and staff meeting, which was a norm for Tuesday. However, given the news of what the university was planning was fresh on the minds of everyone, our time was anything but typical.

I had a very rare opportunity to process with students, as many questions with virtually no answers were arising. Some wondering about events since the school would be switching to remote education after spring break, and others involved concern for family friends and the like. I had a chance to remind a student who sang at our winter conference, of the lyrics to a song which came from Psalm 27:1, telling him the Lord was preparing you then for now! As the days went along and more news of restrictions, and church closings came out, I was beginning to see we were in for a very unusual season of life, ministry, and more. I remember the words Stefanie Chappell (National Chi Alpha Staff) she shared on Facebook the morning I was due to fly back to Virginia. She mentioned how all of us in Campus Ministry care about students, and it doesn’t change once they leave campus. She also went further to talk about how the Lord would give us wisdom for the journey ahead, to navigate what no one in Campus Ministry had previously seen.

This takes me to when we entered a timeframe where we had to shelter-in-place. I realized there would be ample opportunities to simply just sit and be with Jesus. And let’s tell the truth – where else did I have to go? My only tent-making responsibilities that continued were at Wal-Mart, as my job fell under the essential category.

Allow me to circle back to the shelter-in-place orders we as Virginians were placed under in April of 2020. Those orders made plenty of room to carve out space that would normally be spent heading to-and-from Walmart to campus, or from home to campus. They allowed hours of time to enjoy the stillness of sitting in a room in my house (which is used as a study and prayer space), to read Scripture, sit quietly before Jesus, and at times listen to worship music that speaks the heart of God to me. These were also times I could ask the Lord for peace and protection during all the uncertainty at the time – including the coronavirus, the pandemic, and later the murder of George Floyd, which brought more conversations to us as a church that were long overdue.

Psalm 3:3, in combination with verse two of Psalm 91, come to mind many days in my times sitting with Jesus. Knowing that, “Lord, you are a shield about me and the lifter of my head.” Thinking on how the Lord is my refuge and fortress as I navigated the uncertainty of those early times was definitely a comfort to me. As certain aspects of ministry and gathering went remote, I also appreciated the flexibility of showing up to my phone or computer screen and asking the Lord to be a part of my time engaging the ministry content, and allowing it to plant seeds for things to come down the line.

Also, in those quiet times the Lord would provide boldness, hope, and areas which I could lay before him, which are not limited to my heart for him, my natural family, my family in Christ, and how to walk in intentional love towards them, and being stirred up creatively to encourage others, as well as things to take with me into upcoming seasons. As I think about the Lord being my refuge and my fortress, I think about his hand covering me in private to empower me as I’m in public. The quiet place with Jesus is also the equipping place, of which I learned to lean on in this season.

Key Quotation

As certain aspects of ministry and gathering went remote, I also appreciated the flexibility of showing up to my phone or computer screen and asking the Lord to be a part of my time engaging the ministry content, and allowing it to plant seeds for things to come down the line.

Question

How are you making space to spend in the shelter of the Most High, to empower your life on mission?

Kevin Wright, CRU at George Mason University