COVID 19 ... BUT GOD!

In mid-March Kansas declared that schools would close for the rest of the school year.    Other states soon made the same determination. 

Very quickly we started hearing terms like “Shelter at Home” and “Social distancing.” “Quarantine” was a word seldom heard in these days…until now when we hear it daily. 

The words “Pandemic” and “Plague,” although foreign and strange to the younger generation, engender memories giving rise to fear in minds and hearts of the oldest among us.

Businesses and churches closed, 

The economy faltered, 

Violence at home is increasing, 

and Deaths from the virus are reported daily. 

Many of us have only seen times like these in movies or read about them in books.

Depression, 

Frustration, 

and Discouragement are on the rise, exacerbated by the news reports and accompanied by weather fluctuations from cold and wintry to mild and spring-like and back to wintry again.

And we are all wondering, "How long???" 

Nothing is certain except that nothing is certain.

But GOD…

I always love it when I read those words “But God” in my Bible. Often they follow bad circumstances or evil, offering hope to a situation that would otherwise seem hopeless.

But God…

For example – Joseph after all the hardship he had gone through told his brothers, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” Genesis 50:20

In Psalm 73:26 the Psalmist records “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

Another such passage can be found in Ephesians 2:3-10. ".......But God who is rich in mercy..."

So… Covid 19 …That’s the bad news.

But God … That’s the good news!

So, what can we do? 

We can follow the example of King David when things were so bad his own people wanted to stone him to death! 1 Samuel 30:6 says that he “was greatly distressed…but David encouraged himself (some versions say ‘strengthened himself’) in the Lord his God.” (kjv)   He encouraged himself in the Lord! He took courage in the only one able to save him. He drew strength from God! David also wrote in Psalm 29:11, “The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.” (niv)

Secondly, we can heed the words of the Apostle Paul, when writing to the church at Thessalonica he said, “… encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11 

We can encourage others! 

When we do that we bless others but we are encouraged also!

So, dear friend, be encouraged in the Lord today. Let Him be your source of strength and peace in the middle of this storm. And then in His strength, look for ways to encourage others.

Blessings,

Ruth

Perhaps you would like to share ways that you have found to encourage others during this pandemic. If so, please put your ideas in the comments.