There is a TV show called “Naked and Afraid” where they drop two people in a remote place with nothing but one tool of their choosing and a small woven bag. The show is frequently staged, and I have read stories describing some of the fake settings and film editing. It is still a fascinating study of survival. The most challenging part of the experiment is when one of the contestants calls it quits and decides to go home. Then the person left behind is alone and afraid. The struggle with loneliness is often more significant than the struggle for food, water, shelter or clothing.

We long for companionship. We need people in our lives. God does not just create Adam; he gives him a companion in Eve. In the New Testament, he does not only make new creations; he provides us with a community of believers we call the Church.

One of my fears through this pandemic is that when the dust has settled and people are allowed to go back to their “normal” lives, they will abandon Church meetings. After all, we have survived for weeks and weeks without meeting together, why do we need to go back now?

My continual prayer though this time, is that God will show us our great need for community. I pray we will miss the fellowship of faith. I hope you will feel an absence in our lives that can only be filled by other believers. I dream that we will come out of this time with a greater sense of our connection to the body of believers.

If that does not happen, then much of this time will have been in vain. Let that longing you feel to connect push you toward the Church community. It is not good to be alone and afraid. We were made for connection, and any voice pushing you away from it is not the voice of God.