It seems as if the entire world is in a battle. It’s a new, very strange and different type of battle…for our enemy is invisible. And because the enemy is unseen…we are filled with apprehension and fear. But we need to remember that just because COVID19 is unseen by the naked eye, doesn’t mean God can’t see it. And it’s not by our might or power that this battle will be won, but by His Spirit says the Lord. (Zechariah 4:6) So as the Lord told Jehoshaphat in II Chronicles 20:15…He exhorts you today, “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.”
Tag: daily encouraging devotions
Romans 8:35 ” Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? “
This week has been one for the record books as we proceed into the uncharted waters of a pandemic. So the Scripture today is especially important to not only read, but to internalize. There is nothing that can separate us from the love of Jesus…not mandatory isolation, or calamity on the air waves, or the fear within us. And Paul was so persuaded of this that he wrote, starting in verse 38, “For I am convinced that neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation , will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” This virus may have us sequestered from friends…but not from God. It may have us cut off from our Church, but not from the Body of Believers. Finally, this virus will never be virulent enough to take God’s love away, and “In all things we are more than conquerors through Him who loves us.”
I Corinthians 15:57-58 ” But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
The Apostle Paul could be writing these Scriptures to us today…Dear friends, stand firm and let nothing move you. For it is only by the Lord’s help that we can choose faith over fear, peace over panic, and worship over worry. Paul goes on to exhort us to look beyond ourselves and serve others. For just because we’re facing difficult times doesn’t mean what God has called us to do is now exempt, futile, or pointless in His eyes. Quite the opposite! Earlier in this Chapter, Paul writes that we are God’s fellow workers, (I Corinthians 3:9) and nothing we do in His Name will ever be insignificant, unimportant, or unworthy of the calling. Be the hands and feet of Jesus to a lost and dying world today and make a difference!
Isaiah 40:1 ” Comfort, comfort My people, says your God.”
Right now in these uncertain and troubling times, we are all looking for comfort. Looking for encouragement, hope, and reassurance to displace the fear and apprehension we’re feeling and witnessing around us. Chapter 40 of Isaiah starts out with this verse, telling us that God is there to give us strength and hope…that His word stands forever (verse 8) and ends with these powerful words, “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.” (verses 29-30) Our comfort will be found in God and God alone…for in Him we will find hope and strength for another day.
Philippians 1:12-13 ” Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ.”
As a Christian Community we have been handed a big bag of lemons. We are self-isolating, quarantined, and staying away from others. But if you consider where Paul was when he wrote this letter…he was in prison! And Roman prisons were dark, dank, holes in the ground where the rats ran free and food was scarce. But yet, Paul, made lemon-aide out of the lemons he was handed! For even though he was chained, cold and hungry he saw it as an opportunity to serve God and preach the Good News of the Gospel. So think how you could take that bag of lemons you’ve been handed today and creatively make lemon-aide out of them. With many children home now, have them reach out to Great-Grandparents, Great-Uncles, and Aunts who are stuck inside their homes. It gets pretty lonely when its just you, the TV, and the dog or cat. For the younger ones, they could color pictures or make cards to send to family members As for you, think how you could reconnect with old friends, call those elderly neighbors nearby to check in, start a online Bible Study or Pray Group with friends, and get back into your Bible. Let’s look at this time as Paul did…and make lemon-aide out of that bag of lemons.
II Corinthians 4:16-17 ” Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”
The apostle Paul who wrote this is probably one of the best examples of someone who looked beyond discouragement and refused to give in to despair. For here Paul calls the overwhelming mental, physical, and spiritual distress he has endured as “light and momentary troubles.” But how could he do this? The answer is simple…he was allowing the Lord to renew and restore his mind daily…or as Colossians 3:10 tells us, “Put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” When we become discouraged, fearful, or overcome with the current troubles in the world today, we need to be reminded that as we go through all these hardships, they are achieving for us righteousness and eternal glory for His namesake. Therefore, we do not lose heart.
I Chronicles 28:9 ” And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve Him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.”
Ulterior motives, lip service, or selfish plans and purposes…God sees through them all. We may think we’re fooling everyone with our holier than thou attitude…but we’re not fooling God for a moment. What He wants from us is authenticity, integrity, and a open heart. For those are things He can work with! And I’m really sorry to burst your bubble, but it’s not all about you or what you think you need to be doing that He wants today. We are instead to be seeking His face always, not our own selfish agendas.
Psalm 68:20 ” Our God is a God Who saves; from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death.”
In looking up the Hebrew words in this short verse, I found some interesting things. First, the Hebrew word for “saves” here occurs only once in the Old Testament…its meaning – deliverance. Next, the Hebrew word for “Lord” is the covenant name of God. Finally, the Hebrew word for “death” here means deadly sickness or plague. We need to be reminded today that our God is a covenant-keeping God who delivers us out of all our calamities and distresses. (I Samuel 10:19) And as the Psalmist wrote, “You have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before You in the light of life.” (Psalm 56:13) And as both Jeremiah and Ezekiel proclaimed… it’s only from the Lord that comes escape.
Acts 17:23 ” For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: To an unknown God. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.”
The world seems to be worshiping at the altar of the god of the unknown right now…trying to appease something they don’t understand…filled with panic rather than peace. But here Paul recognized this and instead pointed the people of Athens to the one true God. In talking to the Samaritan woman at the well Jesus spoke of this, “You Samaritans worship what you don’t know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.” (John 4:22-23) Bottom line, the world needs Jesus right now. They need to turn away from the god of the unknown with all its distress and fear and instead face their Savior, Jesus Christ, and receive peace and comfort. So ponder this… now might become one of the most important times in modern Church history for souls coming to Jesus out of fear and desperation. The question is – Are you ready to make the unknown known to them?
I Timothy 4:10 “…that we have put our hope in the living God, Who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe.”
God is the God of all people whether they know Him or not. This phenomenon is called Common Grace. It is the good and undeserved kindness of God that He shows to all mankind – the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you think about it, every person on the earth at one time or another has been ill, injured, or in trouble…only to be healed, restored, or rescued in some secular sense, regardless if they know God or have never heard His name before. For as God says to us all in Isaiah 54:8, “But with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you.”
Safetypinlove 