01/25/2026
I was just meditating and reflecting on this snow storm and how it has closed us in, kept us inside, kept us from gathering for in-person church services and how it is keeping us apart from others right now.
But being apart, being separate isn’t always a bad thing. God sometimes separates us for a purpose, for a reason:
Leviticus 20:26 AMP
You are to be holy to Me; for I the LORD am holy, and have set you apart from the peoples (nations) to be Mine.
‘Holy’ is the Hebrew word ‘qodesh’ which means: of God, as separate, apart, and so sacred. Holy means to be separate, set apart, to be of God. There are times God ‘seals us in’, and separates us for our own good.
Job 37:7 AMP
God seals (brings to a standstill, stops) [by severe weather] the hand of every man, That all men [whom He has made] may know His work [that is, His sovereign power and their subjection to it].
Sometimes God will bring us to a stop, to a standstill, even using the weather, a snowstorm, to do it. But He does it so that we will take note of Him, recognize Him, see Him and see His mighty hand at work. Since we are closed in by the snowstorm, instead of an inconvenience, we should see it as an opportunity, instead of a missing out, we should see it as a blessing. It can be a time for us to:
Psalm 46:10-11 AMP
“Be still and know (recognize, understand) that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth.” [11] The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold [our refuge, our high tower]. Selah.
Instead of thinking of ourselves as being cut off, we should think of ourselves as being apart with God. We should find in this a time to ‘rest in God’, knowing that He is our refuge. We are sheltered from the storm in a refuge with God, in a time apart, a time when we, and the world around us, have been ‘forced’, or maybe it would be better to say allowed by the snowstorm, by the hand of God to stop, or at the very least slow down, and be still. To recognize the awesome power of God in the snowstorm, realize that He has brought us stillness, calm, quiet, and slowed down our pace for a few days so that we might pause and recognize Him. Pause and be still and know that He is God, and realize that though we are separated and closed off, apart from each other for a time, we know that we are not alone. The Lord of hosts is with us.
While we’re apart, while we’re closed in by the storm we should remember that God is with us. Instead of feeling like we’re missing out on something we should thank God for the blessing of what we are gaining: a time to be apart with Him, a time to rest in Him, time to slow down and enjoy the beauty of His creation, the beauty of the pure white snow, the beauty of seeing the mighty works of God in the storm. Knowing that even if we’re the only ones in the house we are not alone, that we are closed in with God.
Take this opportunity to draw closer to Him, know His Presence is with you, know that:
Deuteronomy 33:27a AMP
The eternal God is your refuge and dwelling place, And underneath are the everlasting arms…
Stay safe, stay warm, enjoy the stillness, and slower pace of life. Soon enough, we’ll be back at living our life, back to work, back to our normal routine. I pray that we carry the stillness and peace, the slower pace of the last few days with us. That God has met you and blessed you in this standstill, and that most of all you carry with you a deeper love of and appreciation of Him. That though we may leave the refuge of our physical dwelling place, we never leave the refuge and dwelling place of God, that we carry Him with us as we go back to our normal routine. That our ‘normal’ routine is no longer normal, but transformed by the power of God and that we know that as we go through our days God is with us, and underneath, behind all of it, underneath us, are the everlasting arms of God.
---
2 Corinthians 13:14 AMP
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
~~Pastor Mark
