Quarantining with God: Daily Devotions from a Pastoral Heart

By Glenn L. Monson

A dedication to prayer, a pastoral heart, and a love for Scripture come together in this collection of devotions. Originally written for congregation members during the coronavirus pandemic of 2020, these devotions explore every facet of Scripture from the Wisdom writings to the Revelation of St. John. Composed for daily use, they follow the liturgical calendar, beginning in the season of Lent, when the pandemic first exploded in the Midwest, and continue through the following Epiphany season, one year later. Each day's devotion includes a substantial portion of Scripture, a brief reflection, and a prayer. It is the hope of the author, an active Lutheran pastor, that all who feel "quarantined," whether in a pandemic or not, might find comfort, encouragement, and wisdom in these devotions.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Resource Publications
• Release date: Feb 3, 2022
• ISBN: 9781666793031

Glenn L. Monson

Glenn Monson is an active pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. He received his MDiv from Luther-Northwestern Theo. Seminary, St. Paul, MN in 1991, and his DMin in Preaching from the Lutheran School of Theo. at Chicago in 2003. His blog, Law and Gospel Everywhere, and his first book, Afflicting the Comfortable, Comforting the Afflicted, have been used by pastors globally, seeking a clearer understanding of Law and Gospel preaching. His collection of devotions, Quarantining With God, was written for congregational members during the first year of the corona virus pandemic.

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Introduction

This series of devotions arose out of the desire to provide pastoral care to the people of my congregation during the coronavirus pandemic which took root in the United States in 2020. In March of that year, the pandemic hit with such force that virtually the entire nation was locked down. Stores, bars, restaurants, businesses of all sorts, schools, and churches—virtually every place where people gathered in public—were suddenly closed, and all citizens were advised to stay home, going out only for the most essential services. This national quarantine created a level of inactivity never seen before in our country, as people everywhere hunkered down and hoped the pandemic would soon pass.

Faced with the sudden and unexpected inability to hold public in-person worship, visit members in the hospital or nursing homes, or do in-person visitation of any kind, pastors were faced with a quandary—how does one provide pastoral care when we can no longer be with people face-to-face? Aware of the possibility of extended isolation and its likely effects on physical, mental, and spiritual health, I determined that one thing I could do was to write daily devotions for my congregation. And so, in the middle of the season of Lent—a season in which we focus on the suffering of Christ—I began to write these devotions reflecting on the suffering we were facing as we mourned our life in community. Originally, I, like most people, assumed the pandemic would be a short-lived affair, and so the earliest devotions attempted to speak to the isolation and discouragement people were feeling during quarantine. As the pandemic continued, however, it became clear that this situation would not soon be over, so the devotions took on other aims: to provide wisdom, counsel, and, in some cases, light-hearted encouragement to the weary.

Of course, the pandemic was not the only large-scale issue with which people were dealing in 2020. On May 25, George Floyd, a man whose name would become synonymous with the Black Lives Matter movement worldwide, was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer. His death sparked protests, which in some cases became riots, in cities across the world. In addition, the build-up to the 2020 election, pitting incumbent President Donald Trump against Joe Biden, a former Vice-President and veteran of Washington politics, was hyper-partisan in ways previously unseen. What resulted, then, from my desire to remain connected to my congregation and provide pastoral care through writing in this year of upheaval was nearly a year’s worth of daily devotions, from one season of Lent to the beginning of the next, reflecting not only life under quarantine, but life lived in a cauldron of volatile race relations and politics.

People of my congregation regularly told me these devotions were instrumental in getting them through the pandemic. More than one congregant reported that reading these devotions was often the first thing they did each day, as they sat with their morning coffee. They are now offered to a wider readership in the hope that readers everywhere who also endured the pandemic will find them a source of comfort, counsel, and strength. Soli Deo Gloria.

Glenn Monson

The Fourth Week in Lent

Monday

Psalm 4

¹ Answer me when I call, O God of my right!

You gave me room when I was in distress.

Be gracious to me, and hear my prayer.

² How long, you people, shall my honor suffer shame?

How long will you love vain words, and seek after lies?

³ But know that the Lord has set apart the faithful for himself;

the Lord hears when I call to him.

⁴ When you are disturbed, do not sin;

ponder it on your beds, and be silent.

⁵ Offer right sacrifices,

and put your trust in the Lord.

⁶ There are many who say, "O that we might see some good!

Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord!"

⁷ You have put gladness in my heart

more than when their grain and wine abound.

⁸ I will both lie down and sleep in peace;

for you alone, O Lord, make me lie down in safety.

The fourth psalm is a plea for deliverance from one’s enemies. In view of our present situation with COVID-19, this seems like an appropriate place to begin this series of reflections. We do pray for deliverance from this virus, for all those who are working hard to come up with tests and strategies for isolating the virus, and for still others who are working hard to produce a vaccine. Meanwhile, we are assured that the Lord hears when we call to him. We are also encouraged to be silent, offer right sacrifices, and put our trust in the Lord. Being silent might be the hardest of those encouragements. We want to do something. We are encouraged to do something by offering right sacrifices, but before that we must sit and listen for God’s leading. Then, assured of God’s call, we get up to serve our neighbor, any in need, our family, or others who depend on us. The final verses assure us that people of faith can tap into a contentment that is not dependent on worldly abundance or earthly comforts. Rather, we have been given the gift that St. Paul calls the peace that passes understanding. This peace comes from our knowledge that in God we lie down in safety.

Prayer

Dearest Jesus, thank you for standing with us today as we confront a fearsome enemy. Give us courage. Give us strength to serve those in need. Give us faith that you are near, guiding us and blessing us. In your name we pray. AMEN.

Tuesday

Psalm 27:1–5, 13–14

¹ The Lord is my light and my salvation;

whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life;

of whom shall I be afraid?

² When evildoers assail me

to devour my flesh—

my adversaries and foes—

they shall stumble and fall.

³ Though an army encamp against me,

my heart shall not fear;

though war rise up against me,

yet I will be confident.

⁴ One thing I asked of the Lord,

that will I seek after:

to live in the house of the Lord

all the days of my life,

to behold the beauty of the Lord,

and to inquire in his temple.

⁵ For he will hide me in his shelter

in the day of trouble;

he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;

he will set me high on a rock.

¹³ I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord

in the land of the living.

¹⁴ Wait for the Lord;

be strong, and let your heart take courage;

wait for the Lord!

In this passage, it is clear that the psalmist is experiencing a threat. What that threat is, we cannot be sure. But notice the source of the writer’s confidence. The Lord is a light in the darkness, salvation (i.e., deliverance) from enemies, and a stronghold in which to live in this fraught time. The house of the Lord has become for this psalmist a place of refuge, a place to gather strength and courage.

The Lord’s presence is where we gather for strength and courage. We gather with family and/or friends in our homes, reading the Word, telling stories of faith, saying prayers for the world and one another. We do all we can to be a source of blessing to others, and then we wait for the Lord, confident that the Lord is at work even now.

Prayer

Strong Deliverer, when we are beset by forces larger than ourselves, give us faith and courage. Help us to see signs of your deliverance and ways that our hands can be doing your work in the world. We trust you, O God. We wait on you. AMEN.

Wednesday

Psalm 46:1–7, 10–11

God is our refuge and strength,

a very present help in trouble.

² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,

though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;

³ though its waters roar and foam,

though the mountains tremble with its tumult.

⁴ There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,

the holy habitation of the Most High.

⁵ God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved;

God will help it when the morning dawns.

⁶ The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter;

he utters his voice, the earth melts.

⁷ The Lord of hosts is with us;

the God of Jacob is our refuge.

¹⁰ "Be still, and know that I am God!

I am exalted among the nations,

I am exalted in the earth."

¹¹ The Lord of hosts is with us;

the God of Jacob is our refuge

In Old Testament imagery, the sea was always the symbol for chaos. It was vast, uncontrolled, and, at that time, largely unknown. Other waters were more benign, or even blessings, such as the streams that make glad the city of God. These streams were a way of talking about the temple in Jerusalem. The temple was a source of spiritual refreshment or living water, as Jesus would say.

The Word of God is our Living Water. When we are thirsty, we drink from its gushing spring. We take in the promises of God, the assurances of Christ’s presence with us in suffering, and the Spirit’s guidance. We also share with others where they can obtain this living water. We continually say, The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.

Prayer

Lord of Heaven and Earth, when we are thirsty, draw us to your gushing spring. We trust that you, O God, are the One who provides us with all we need for life and faith. Let us draw deeply from your spring and receive what we need to live each day in faith and hope. In Christ’s name we pray. AMEN.

Thursday

Psalm 91:1–7, 14–16

¹ You who live in the shelter of the Most High,

who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,

² will say to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress;

my God, in whom I trust."

³ For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler

and from the deadly pestilence;

⁴ he will cover you with his pinions,

and under his wings you will find refuge;

his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.

⁵ You will not fear the terror of the night,

or the arrow that flies by day,

⁶ or the pestilence that stalks in darkness,

or the destruction that wastes at noonday.

⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,

ten thousand at your right hand,

but it will not come near you.

¹⁴ Those who love me, I will deliver;

I will protect those who know my name.

¹⁵ When they call to me, I will answer them;

I will be with them in trouble,

I will rescue them and honor them.

¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy them,

and show them my salvation.

This psalm of protection is one of the most beloved passages in Scripture. It is often read at the bedside of the sick and dying. In the second verse, there is a phrase that original hearers were encouraged to repeat in the assembly: My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust. This can be a mantra that we repeat each day. There is great mystery in suffering, in why it comes to some and not to others. We don’t know why some will be delivered from the deadly pestilence and others will not. We don’t know why ten thousand may fall, and yet others are not stricken. What we do know is that God’s promise, I am with you in trouble, is true, and that ultimately nothing can harm us, for our place in God’s house is secure.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, you gave healing to many. You wept at the grave of Lazarus. You experienced suffering and death in your own body. You are familiar with all our pain and sorrow. Bless us with the assurance that you are our refuge and fortress, One in whom we can trust. Grant us your peace. AMEN.

Friday

Psalm 121

¹ I lift up my eyes to the hills—

from where will my help come?

² My help comes from the Lord,

who made heaven and earth.

³ He will not let your foot be moved;

he who keeps you will not slumber.

⁴ He who keeps Israel

will neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵ The Lord is your keeper;

the Lord is your shade at your right hand.

⁶ The sun shall not strike you by day,

nor the moon by night.

⁷ The Lord will keep you from all evil;

he will keep your life.

⁸ The Lord will keep

your going out and your coming in

from this time on and forevermore.

Psalm 121 is known as the Keeper Psalm. Notice how many times the word keep is used. It means to preserve and protect and is a very common word in the Hebrew Bible. It is the job, for instance, of the night watchman to be the keeper of the city. It is the task of the shepherd to be the keeper of the sheep. The psalmist says that the Lord is our keeper. This Lord is the One who made all things. This Lord is One who never sleeps, never tires, never goes on vacation. We are kept always by this Keeper. In the last verse, we are told that this One keeps us from our going out to our coming in. This is the Hebrew way of talking about life. When we are born, we go out from God through our mothers. We live our life, and then at our death we come in—we come back to God. So, this Keeper preserves and protects us from our going out to our coming in, and even forevermore.

Prayer

We praise you, Gracious God, for your eternal love. We thank you that you are our keeper, protecting and preserving us all our days. Help us to be keepers of others, our neighbors, our families, and any we come in contact with. Help us also share your eternal love. In Christ’s name we pray. AMEN.

The Fifth Week in Lent

Monday

Isaiah 43:1–3a

But now thus says the Lord,

he who created you, O Jacob,

he who formed you, O Israel:

Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by name, you are mine.

² When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;

when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,

and the flame shall not consume you.

³ For I am the Lord your God,

the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

If we think about the great stories of God’s people in the Old Testament, we see many examples of difficult days. In the book of Exodus alone, we hear of the days of slavery in Egypt (Ch. 1), the harrowing rescue at the Red Sea (Ch. 14), and the long days of hunger and thirst in the wilderness (Ch. 15–17). In the passage above, we hear a word spoken to the people of God who are in exile—another difficult time. The thing that has sustained the people of God has always been the promise that we are God’s people. Yes, we may be a people living in uncertain times, but we are certain we belong to God, and God will not forget us. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, says our God. The rivers shall not overwhelm you. This is God’s way of saying, Though the days might be exhausting, like trudging through a flooding river, and the nights might be scary, like walking through a forest set ablaze, yet I am with you, for I am the Lord your God, the Holy One, your Savior.

Prayer

Thank you, loving God, that you are with us wherever we go. Thank you that we are yours, and come what may, that will not change. Thank you for calling us by name in our baptism, and reminding us of that this day. Grant us faith and courage in these days, and let us be bearers of hope and courage to others. In Christ’s name we pray. AMEN.

Tuesday

Lamentations 3:55–58

⁵⁵ I called on your name, O Lord,

from the depths of the pit;

⁵⁶ you heard my plea, "Do not close your ear

to my cry for help, but give me relief!"

⁵⁷ You came near when I called on you;

you said, Do not fear!

⁵⁸ You have taken up my cause, O Lord,

you have redeemed my life.

In this brief passage, we have a complete lament and song of praise in just four verses. First, we hear the speaker’s situation— they are calling from the depths of the pit. This is the writer’s way of saying, Lord, I am in a very dark place, and I don’t know how much longer I can hold on. Next, we hear the writer’s prayer: Give me relief! How many times each day might this be our prayer these days? Once a day? Twice? Three times? Every hour or more? Then, in verse 3, comes God’s reply. God comes near—that is to say, there is some sign of God’s presence—followed by a voice that says, Do not fear! This is a constant message in the Bible: to Mary when she is told of the conception of Jesus within her, to Joseph who is told that the child in Mary’s womb is of God, to the shepherds in the field who came to Bethlehem to see the baby Jesus at his birth. Do not be afraid. Do not fear! It is God’s constant message to us. Finally, in the last verse, the writer testifies to God’s faithfulness: You have redeemed my life. You have rescued me from my despair. All this God says to us these days. God does not close an ear to our cries.

Prayer

Ever-present God, we praise you for your constant love and faithfulness. We thank you that you hear our cries and come near when we call. Give each of us, and all your people around the globe, a sign of your presence today. Help us to hear the voice that says, Do not fear. We ask this through Christ our Lord. AMEN.

Wednesday

Matthew 6:25–34

²⁵ "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷ And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? ²⁸ And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, ²⁹ yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. ³⁰ But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ ³² For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³ But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

³⁴ "So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

The last line of this passage is the clincher: Today’s trouble is enough for today. Worry piles yesterday’s regrets and tomorrow’s fears onto a full plate of today’s troubles. Jesus says, Your plate is already full enough; don’t even think about dishing up more. When I was a kid, I attended many potluck dinners at church or at family reunions. I would regularly take more than I could eat as I went through the serving line. You know how it is – everything looks so good, so you take some of everything and before long you have way more than you can ever eat. It’s like that with worry. Somehow, we just have a hard time not dishing up a bit of this worry and that anxiety onto our plates as we go through the day. Jesus says, You can only eat so much. Only take what you can handle right now. Let today’s trouble be enough for today.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, forgive us for piling all the world’s worries onto our own plate. Give us the ability to trust you for tomorrow, and believe that we are forgiven for whatever didn’t go so well yesterday. Grant us the faith to let today’s troubles be enough for the day. In your name we pray. AMEN.

Thursday

John 10:11–18

¹¹ I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹² The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. ¹³ The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. ¹⁴ I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. ¹⁷ For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. ¹⁸ No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.

Jesus is being modest; he is more than a good shepherd. Jesus is a shepherd who goes far beyond the call of being a shepherd. Think of it: a shepherd makes sure the flock has good pasture, plenty of water, protection from predators, and a sheepfold to snuggle up in each night. I doubt that the average shepherd job description said, Must be willing to lay down your life for the sheep. And yet, Jesus assures us over and over again that he has done this for us. Furthermore, he says that God the Father has commanded him to do this. God apparently knew that this was coming. Perhaps God could see the extent to which God’s love would have to be made known. All we can do is stand in awe of this love and let it radiate through our lives to others.

Prayer

God of Infinite Love, how can we ever thank you enough for sending your Son into this difficult and dangerous world? Thank you for sending us a good shepherd who promises not only to provide for our every need, but who will even lay down his life for us. Help us to live each day in gratefulness for this love, and in some measure to extend this to others. In your strong name we pray. AMEN.

Friday

John 14:1–3

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. ² In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.

There are many old jokes about the dwelling places of the Most High. The old King James Bible called these dwelling places mansions, so many of the jokes have to do with mansions. One such joke has to do with a taxi driver and a preacher who arrive at heaven on the same day and so together are shown to their heavenly mansions by St. Peter. When the preacher realizes that his eternal dwelling is considerably smaller than the one just given to the taxi driver, he asks why. St. Peter says, Well, it’s like this: when he drove, people prayed, and when you preached, people slept. I love that joke. The fact is, we don’t know what God has in store for us in eternity, but the promise from Jesus is clear: Where I am, there you will be also. That’s enough. We will be with Jesus. Jesus is the embodiment of God’s love, and we will be with him. And that’s no joke.

Prayer

God of Eternity, we cannot fathom your eternal love for us. We cannot really even conceive of eternity. Whatever that means, we trust that we shall always be with you. Give us peace and faith in this promise as we live through these days. In Jesus’ name we pray. AMEN.

Holy Week Devotions

Monday

Romans 8:31–39

³¹ What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? ³² He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? ³³ Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. ³⁵ Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ³⁶ As it is written,

"For your sake we are being killed all day long;

we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered."

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹ nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Just prior to this passage, the apostle Paul talks about the sufferings of this present time. He speaks of the whole creation groaning like a mother in labor. He even speaks about times when we are so disheartened that we cannot even pray, and he reminds us that in those times the Spirit intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words. But then, when he has finished that litany of suffering, he turns to the question, What then are we to say to these things? By these things he means all that suffering that he has just lifted up. His conclusion is stunning: NOTHING can separate us from God’s love poured out for us in Jesus Christ. Can the coronavirus and all the suffering it brings separate us from God’s love? No! Can separation from loved ones due to quarantine separate us from God’s love? No! Can even death itself? No! Nothing in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Thanks be to God!

Prayer

We are easily disheartened these days, dear Lord. We look at the growing numbers of hospitalized and dead from COVID-19, and we are afraid. We know that you are guiding and blessing all those who are working so hard to develop tests and provide a vaccine, but we wonder if it will come soon enough. Grant us faith to believe that you are embracing us in this time. Help us to know that nothing can separate us from your love, today or in any day to come. In the Name of Jesus we pray. AMEN.

Tuesday

Philippians 4:4–7

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. ⁵ Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

When we read this passage, which comes near the end of the apostle Paul’s letter to the Christians in Philippi, it is easy to assume that Paul was living a life of ease at the time he was writing. After all, who says, Rejoice! Don’t worry about anything! except someone who isn’t suffering? We who are suffering might well reply, That’s easy for you to say. But Bible historians tell us that Paul was not only not living a life of ease – he was in prison. Indeed, he mentions his imprisonment in the first part of the letter. How then can he tell his people to rejoice? His answer is, The Lord is near. He has come to realize that the