I have used some of this material below in my first virtual message and thought it would be good to repeat and add some more, now that we are in lockdown. To stir your juices here, I’ve put in two of Paul Tripp’s meditations/poems taken from “My Heart Cries Out-Gospel Meditations for Everyday Life” at the end. For the artists among us, it would be good to see some of your creative work as well (Sasha, Stefan (cartoons/sketches), Steve, Jonny, and others…)

Jedd Medefind - Helpful Things to Consider during Lockdown

“Throughout the last decade, my work colleagues and I have labored virtually. Here’s one thing we’ve learned: when external structure is low, our intentionality needs to be high. If we don’t actively decide what we want a day to hold, we’re at the mercy of a hundred things other than what matters most.

How do we choose the threads we’d like to weave through the days ahead? I’d suggest three simple elements. Nothing remarkable here. Just start with a quiet half-hour, coffee and a journal.

Ponder. Consider what we want. Dream a little. If my calendar has some unexpected openings, how might I want to use that time?

Prioritize. Decide what matters most and what experiences we’d most like to look back on. When this unique season ends, what things will I be especially glad I did?

Plan. Put it on paper—a simple, flexible description of how we’ll do it. Where and how can I make those priorities part of the unconventional days ahead?

Of course, the days to come will no doubt hold much that’s unplannable. But let us state explicitly what’s likely to fill the void if we don’t plan: more screen time. Lots more. Our screens already pull at us with magical powers. Long hours at home and COVID-19 anxiety will only boost that gravity toward our devices. To entertain ourselves. To catch the latest on the virus’s spread. To distract the kids. To soothe unsettled nerves. (Little wonder a neighbor messaged our neighborhood email group today offering to expand our Internet bandwidth “during this time of isolation.”)

That’s certainly not at all to say that movies, news and other tech-based leisure shouldn’t be part of what we choose in the days ahead. No doubt, technology will be a lifeline for both work and education. But we can choose the place of our screens and their boundaries. We must. Otherwise, screen time will fill every crack and crevice of life, like jungle vines overtaking an ancient temple. If that happens, we’ll look back on this time as having been far less than it could have been.

I have found block scheduling—mapping out the day with chunks of time set aside for specific purposes—to be particularly helpful in avoiding inefficient multitasking. Setting clear boundaries for my technology also helps me stay focused on what each time block is for. For example, I turn my phone to airplane mode 30-minutes prior to bed. That time is for winding down mind and heart, and conversation with my wife, Rachel. When I wake, I don’t re-activate the phone until after morning devotions and breakfast with our five kids.

Six Ideas to Consider

If not more screen time, with what should we fill voids created by canceled events and social distancing? That’s for each of us to decide. But here are some categories worth consideration.

The Outdoors. How about morning hikes or evening strolls? As Scripture describes, creation reveals the character and wonder of God himself (Ps. 19:1-3, Rom. 1:20). Perhaps that is why studies have found that time outdoors decreases anxiety, brings down heart rates, boosts concentration and attention, among other benefits. (Add to this the immense benefits to both body and mind of simply getting out of your chair and moving.)

Creating. How long has it been since you made something you didn’t have to? You may be no virtuoso. But if you dig down to your 5-year old self, you’ll recall how delightful it is to create, even imperfectly. Paint or draw. Make music. Color a coloring book. Write a poem or tell a story. Even better, do it together with kids or a friend.

Solitude. My wife Rachel and I each go away individually for 24-hours alone with God twice a year. Admittedly, solitude is jarring to senses accustomed to constant stimulation. But when our hands are open, we inevitably find precious gifts in prayer, reflection, journaling, worship, and thanksgiving. Choosing time alone will look different for everyone, especially now. This season may offer a chance to explore this and other spiritual disciplines in ways you never have before. (John Marc Comer’s free booklet “How to Un-hurry” provides a wonderful guide for starting out.)

Family. Close quarters for long stretches can bring out the worst. Our muscles of patience and forgiveness will be tested, strained and—potentially—grown. (How about memorizing Colossians 3:12-15 together?) It’s also worth remembering the clichéd-yet-revealing truth that the elderly often wish they’d spent more quality time with those they loved. Here’s your chance, from coffee conversations to a game of monopoly.

Learning. Virtually every kid in America will be schooling from home for the foreseeable future. Why not join them? From the forgotten book on your nightstand to the TED talk you’d wanted to watch and discuss as a family, here’s the time.

Service. Fears keenly tend to turn our thoughts small and inward. So re-directing our attention to the needs of others may take extra effort. But what could make this time rich and meaningful more than helping a widow with yardwork or inviting a lonely person for a meal? (If you’re under quarantine, you can still share the love with notes, phone calls, emails and prayer.)

The Freedom of Constraint

To be clear, all this isn’t about just adding to-dos to homebound lives. Most of all, we must feel the profound truth that life holds immense gifts despite—and sometimes even because of—constraint. As Justin Whitmel Early explores in his marvelous book , The Common Rule, the good life doesn’t come from the ability to do anything we want but in choosing what we were made for.

Thankfully, none of this is new to the Christian. We serve the one who willingly embraced all the constraints of flesh, “taking the very nature of a servant.” Those who follow him can choose, as Paul did, “Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone . . .” (1 Cor. 9:19)

This is not to say that the season ahead of us will be easy. Many will no doubt find in it the most difficult challenges they’ve ever encountered, from personal illness or loss of loved ones to financial ruin. But history suggests that even the most biting of constrictions—from the stocks that bound Paul and Silas, to Solzhenitsyn’s gulag, to Mandela’s Robben Island, to Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birmingham jail—offer priceless gifts to those with eyes to see and hands to receive, just like Count Rostov’s hotel. If that is so, the constraints we now face may have gifts for us, too, if we choose to receive them.”

Immanent Sovereignty by Paul Tripp

You are not a distant Lord,
or a detached Master,
moving the pawns
on the board
in an impersonal act
of winning.
Your lordship
does not separate
me from you
as a serf
would be separated
from a king.
No, you accomplished
your sovereign plan
by invading my
dark and messy world
in the person
of your Son,
giving yourself
in radical grace
to people
who saw no value
in your nearness.
You are Master
and you are
Immanuel.
You are Lord,
and you are
Father.
You are King,
and you are
Friend.
You are Sovereign,
and you are
Shepherd.
Your rule is not from
afar.
No, your rule brings you
near.
I have hope today
because you are not
distant.
And I celebrate
the amazing
rest and strength
to be found in the reality that
your sovereignty
has brought you
near.

All this took place to fulfil what the Lord has spoken by the prophet:

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

and they shall call his name Immanuel”

(which means, God with us). (Matt. 1:22-23)

This poem compares and contrasts some different titles and roles of God.

Spend some time pondering the list, supplementing it with titles and roles that were not listed. Let this exercise lead you into worship over the many facets of God’s character.
Recall or journal about times when God has drawn near to his people (both in the Bible and in your own experience).
For further study and encouragement, read Philippians 2:1-11.

Run and Hide by Paul Tripp

When it all becomes
confusing,
when what is good
seems not so
clear,
when wrong seems
like it’s
winning,
where do you
run,
where do you
hide?
When you wonder
if it’s worth it to
honor,
worship,
fear, and
obey,
where do you
run,
where do you
hide?
When disappointment
surrounds you
and weariness sets in,
where do you
run,
where do you
hide?
When your soul
is growing
bitter
and your heart is at its
end,
where do you
run,
where do you hide?
When evil seems to
prosper and good suffers
again,
where do you
run,
where do you
hide?
When my flesh is
weak
and my heart may
fail,
there is one thing I have
learned-
you are the only place to
hide.
You are
counsel,
guidance,
glory,
and strength.
I have nothing besides
you.
So in the darkness of
confusion
when I need a place to
hide,
I run to the only place to
hide.
I run to
you.

You are my hiding place and my

shield:

I hope in your word. (Ps. 119:114)

When you are confused, disappointed, weary, or bitter, where do you run and hide? How do places of refuge that are not God eventually fail us?
Form a list of all the ways that God is ultimately the best hiding place for you. Don’t forget to include past personal experiences in the list.
For further study and encouragement, read 1 Kings 19.