Hello everyone!
I pray this finds each of you, healthy and well.
Maybe you have noticed all the panic, anxiety and fear around us and how it seems to prevail. Businesses are shutting down, jobs are lost, schools and sporting events have been cancelled. Store shelves are empty. It’s not just toilet paper, it is food too.
Churches are closing their doors…
Meanwhile, there is a great celebration taking place. Everything Satan has been working towards is taking place. Anxiety, fear, panic and a loss of concern for others as food, water and other necessities are stockpiled by some, leaving none for the most vulnerable.
Churches are closing their doors and social distancing is being practiced. What a victory for him! No worship services, no singing of praise hymns to prepare hearts for God’s message, no Christian fellowship among believers. Crime rates will increase, some from desperation, some just out of pure meanness.
Looking at the other side, this is a time of opportunity. The opportunity, first and foremost, to draw nearer to God. He wants us to come to Him. He wants our faith and our trust. It’s an opportunity to become closer as a family. Time to sit down to dinner, as a family. A time to reassess what is really important. Time to sit and communicate with your children and show them the love of being a part of family. This is the time to put our faith over our fears.
We can still worship! If you can’t attend services, have your own home church. Sing some hymns, read Bible scriptures, and pray. Check your church website. So many have their sermons online! Rebuke the devil and send him back where he came from. God is still in control!
Take responsibility for what you can do. Wash your hands, eat a healthy diet and take some good vitamins. Vitamin D3 is a great immunity builder. Drink plenty of water.
Help those who can’t help themselves. Do a grocery run for an elderly neighbor or young mother who can’t take her kids to the store right now or pick up a meal for someone who isn’t able to get out.
Above all, PRAY UNCEASINGLY!! God bless you all.
Lois
Deuteronomy 31:8 “He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
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Me: Okay, God, here’s the thing. I’m scared. I’m trying not to be, but I am.
God: I know. Want to talk about it?
Me: Do we need to? I mean, you already know.
God: Let’s talk about it anyway… We’ve done this before.
Me: I know, I just feel like I should be bigger or stronger of something by now.
God: *waiting patiently, unhurried, undistracted, never annoyed.
Me: Okay. So, I’m afraid I’ll do everything I can to protect my family and it won’t be enough. I’m afraid of someone I love dying. I’m afraid the world won’t go back to what it was before. I’m afraid my life is always going to feel a little bit unsettled.
God: Anything else?
Me: EVERYTHING ELSE.
God: Remember how Jaxton woke up the other night and came running down the hall to your bedroom?
Me: Yes.
God: You were still awake, so when you heard him running, you started calling out to him before he even got to you… remember? Do you remember what you called out to him?
Me: I said, “You’re okay! You’re okay! You’re okay!”
God: Why did you call to him? Why didn’t you just wait for him to get to your room?
Me: Because I wanted him to know that I was awake, and I heard him, and he didn’t have to be afraid until he reached the end of the dark hallway.
God: Exactly. I hear you, daughter. I hear your thoughts racing like feet down the dark hallway. There’s an other side to all of this. I’m there already. I’ve seen the end of it. And I want you to know right here as you walk through it all, you’re okay. I haven’t gone to sleep, and I won’t.
Me: *crying. Can we sit together awhile? Can we just sit here a minute before I go back to facing it all?
God: There’s nothing I’d love more.
**For more hope and encouragement, follow: Becky Thompson**