Well, we are officially a week into this Coronavirus thing. Many of us are getting frustrated. Our daily lives are disrupted and we can’t get what we need. Families are together 24/7 in confined spaces and running short on patience and tempers. However, there is a bright light in all of this. Take a moment to think through this with me.
Yesterday, I had a pretty bad day. So bad that I literally spent it in bed. This was due to health, a new medication and then was compounded by an extreme amount of bad news. It just kept coming. And unfortunately, my health issues get worse when the emotions run high. It was a bad day.
I broke midday and went to God. Don’t get me wrong, I had been going to him before, but in a very controlled, polite way. You know, the way you would approach the queen when you were upset. You wouldn’t just go in there sobbing, or angry, or sobbing because of the anger. You would compose yourself. Well, that lasted until about midday. Finally, I broke and let God have it. I gave it all to him. The anger, the crying, the loneliness, the hurt, the injustice… that list could go on. But in it, I also told him that I knew he was God and that my faith would not waver. This went on for quite a while. I didn’t receive an answer yesterday. God just patiently heard me out.
Today, I was reminded of Galatians 6:9 and Romans 5:3-5. I shared these on my FB page. Today, God set me back on my feet and I pushed forward, with newfound energy. And he has been showing me a lot. Not just in society, but in the body of Christ.
He has been showing me that not only am I adapting my Bible Study and sunday school class (I teach both and have moved to video conferencing), but the church is too! I’ve seen so many churches stream their sermons, FB live devotionals and sermons, and adjusting in every way they can in order to keep the body of Christ connected. What a wonderful thing!
I have seen Bible study groups find ways to meet online, people stepping up to support local businesses, churches feeding emergency responders and medical personnel, people sharing God’s word on social media, and so much more! You see, this crisis has made us all adjust. We may not like adjusting. After all, we had it pretty good before all this. But do you know what this crisis makes us do? It makes us evaluate how important is God to us. Are we going to take the extra effort to reach people online and through various other methods? Or are we going to sit back and do our own thing?
This crisis means that our faith now takes effort. And the beautiful thing that God showed me today is that the body of Christ is stepping up to the plate. I will be honest, I am one of those “realist” people. I know that people generally do what is easier, not what is right. But over and over and over this past week, I have been shown that Christians aren’t letting this interfere with their faith. They’re still connecting, they’re still praying, and they’re finding a way.
I mentioned a little while ago that we, as a church, can expect more of this in the future. One of the things Jesus mentioned was that pestilences will grow as we get nearer to the end times. All these things we are doing now, we can’t forget them! The next time we deal with a crisis like this, where we must stop our meetings, we will be prepared! I am so uplifted today, seeing the dedication of churches and members in staying firm in their faith!
Yesterday, I had asked God to show me his love. I needed to see it, desperately. I needed him to show me something to lift my soul. He did so, abundantly. If you re struggling to see the good in a world of bad, ask him to show you too. It’s there and it is great, but sometimes, we need God to get us straight so we can see it.
The body of Christ is adjusting to a new and changing environment. It is finding ways to be the light of Jesus in an environment that is foreign. These new lessons will move the church forward and prepare us for the future. How great it is that through all of that, his word never changes and God, himself, never changes!
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