For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you. Isaiah 54:10
The Lord is with us. We are in times of trouble right now, and we may feel the stress of the current worldwide crisis, but His steadfast love will never leave us. We have gone through things before, and we will come through once again. During this difficult time, I have been reflecting on stories in the Bible where all seemed lost, and victory seemed impossible, yet, with God, we always prevail!
The story of Job is one that comes to mind. Job lost his wealth, his health, his crops, his livestock and even the relationship of his wife and best friends who turned on him – yet we read later in the book of Job (42:10) that “the Lord restored his fortune and gave him twice as much as he had before.” David, Joseph in the Old Testament, and Peter all went through troubling times. In fact, it is rare to find a Biblical hero who did not!
Within all these stories in God’s Word, I have seen some common threads. I want to share two of the common threads I have found that we can glean from in order to begin to prevail through this season:
-
God Created us to Help Each Other.
God knew it was not good for any of us to be alone. He created Eve for Adam and He ordained the “Body of Christ” so we could all help each other in different ways. We don’t have to overthink it. Let’s do intentional acts of kindness – let’s call our elderly friends, let’s love on our family, let’s pick up groceries for those who can’t go themselves. How will you be the hands and feet of God in this season? When you do this, we all start to prevail together and have our needs met. Be an agent of change, peace and calm in the face of people who are panicking and anxious. We can bring light, hope, reassurance and pastoral care. We all need each other to get through this.
-
Stay in Communication with the God of Provision and Creative Solutions.
When things are changing every day, do we panic, or do we trust? When deep down in our core we know we are loved and cared for by Our Father, our perspective changes. We have to be careful to not let fear and anxiety drive a wedge between us and the God of all solutions! I am reminded of Matthew 6:26, “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?” Anxiety is so many times just below the surface and now it’s above the surface for many – we need to come back and recognize that God is sovereign, we are being invited to trust him in greater measures and to ask him for the peace that surpasses understanding to direct our paths. This trust might involve practical steps to partner with His provision that He reveals to you. He may be opening the door to your spiritual or financial upgrade at this time! Will you step out in faith and stay connected?
God Always Prevails. I have no doubt that God will use this time to see a new kind of revival in His Kingdom. More than I ever have in my lifetime, I am encouraged that the church is not a building, but a group of people connected to a creative God. This crisis is only temporary, it will not last forever, but “The Word of the Lord endures forever” (Isaiah 40:8), and He is our guiding light. His word must be our Rock and where we find direction and guidance at this time. His instruction throughout His Word is, “Fear not” and He promises to work things together for the good of those who love Him. He just may use the situation to move us forward in our lives and advance His Kingdom on earth!
That’s such a good reminder, Bob. Your second point is really powerful for me right now. I’m still running the startup I told you about at HIB ’19 and this pandemic has definitely been a setback for us. Still, God keeps sustaining and taking care of us and our families. Thanks for this one!
Yes Matthew! Thanks so much and blessings as you and your startup prevails!
God is always faithful. We have to trust in His faithfulness. When we are in a “Job” situation we need to decide to speak God’s Word instead of gloom and doom, indulge our flesh in self pity, or worse turn a hardened heart towards the Lord.
We do not have a spirit of fear, but power, love and a sound mind.
AMEN! So good. Thanks Mari! Blessings!
Thanks for the encouraging word
Thanks Trish! Blessings!
Very true word’s the word of the Lord endures for ever here in little old New Zealand we have had no new cases for two days and we Christians are praising the Lord bless you Dave Prestidge
The word of the Lord endures forever! Blessings to you Dave!