April 20, 2020

Daily Devotionals

April 20, 2020

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”

But he answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you’, and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’”

Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”

Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’”

Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

Matthew 4:1–11

Quarantine was first defined as the “period a ship suspected of carrying disease is kept in isolation,” from Italian quaranta giorni, literally a “space of forty days.” There was a Venetian policy (first enforced in 1377) of keeping ships from plague-stricken countries waiting off its port for 40 days to assure that no cases of plague were aboard. The extended sense of “any period of forced isolation” is from the 1670s.

To us, quarantine has come to mean a good, long time alone. It means that we are waiting to see if the curve flattens, if we are going to become ill, if our world opens up more or remains sequestered. Some of us have been home — not at work, not at large gatherings, not seeing others — for about 40 days, a real quarantine.

That number 40 in the Bible is a very meaningful number. I brainstormed and looked up biblical 40s, and then I noticed what happened when that time, whether 40 days or 40 years, was finished. What had happened when that “40” was done?

After 40 days and nights of rain in the Great Flood, there was a new start for humanity.
After 40 years wandering in the wilderness, God’s people came to a new Promised Land.
After the 40 days that Moses was on the mountain with God, the people had the law in the Ten Commandments.
After 40 days of Jonah’s warning, Nineveh was saved.
After Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness being tempted, He began his world-changing ministry.
And after the 40 days of Lent, we share in the Easter joy of the resurrection.

So much can happen after that long time of 40 days, after the “quarantine.” We can find that the time has given us a great gift of insight, clarity, or wisdom. We may find that the Lord has reset life for us, showed us a new way forward. We may have taken the time to realize what needs to change in us, to be more faithful, more healthy, more Christ-like. We may find that, as in Jesus’ case after His 40 days of trial, angels come to minister to us with God’s own gracious care.

For Reflection

What do you think God might be doing in your quarantine?

What insights are you having about this time apart from others?

When this time of quarantine eases, will you be renewed, restored, or changed in your direction?

Prayer

Dear Lord, use this time of quarantine to change me for good. Use this time to change our church and city, our country, and our world for good. Bring us renewal and clarity in our lives when we emerge from this time. Lord, we are in Your hands. Shape us, lead us, move us into the future You see for us. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Rev. Vicki Franch

Pastor for Pastoral Care

404-842-2571