Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until his wrath has passed by. Isa 26:20
I watched a bright yellow Weaver bird gather strands from a palm and construct his nest. While common in Africa, the Weaver is something of a marvel. A missionary boy in Nigeria brought me a nest to examine and I was amazed to find a repeating pattern in the bird's knitting. The nest was a hollow globe with a small entry at the bottom that kept out rain and predators. In Southern Africa I watched a Weaver add a hanging tunnel to the side opening of his nest. The only way in was to wiggle through the 30 cm long tube. A hundred of these nests dangled like Christmas tree balls keeping the eggs snug from the storms and mayhem of the outside world.
God tells His people to hide in their rooms from His wrath against the world. This is not an injunction to recluse away from the lost; it is warning to keep our hearts protected for our True Love. The activities of this life threaten to consume me—both its lures and its pain. Sexy ads, trendy cars, exotic vacations, agonizing diseases, bizarre changes, innovative technology, bloody massacres, radical music, births and death: so much to grapple with and integrate. Jesus says, "Let Me be your nest, your place of safety away from the noise of the world around you. Withdraw your heart into intimate friendship with Me while I deal with everything on the outside."
I am invited into a quiet yet passionate interior life with Jesus. My faith must weave a strong sanctuary against anything this life can dish out good or bad. Each new event is occasion to curl up next to Jesus and rest in His strength and peace; to grow in the fullness of my love. So much of what is said or goes on around me is never meant to come into the nest. I must trust Jesus to whisper those few things I need in order to serve Him. All the rest is marked to be destroyed by the wrath of God, so leave it outside.
Prayer: Jesus, hide my heart away from the temptations and pain of the world.
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