Today, the world is battling the Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. Here in America, we are mourning the deaths from the pandemic of over 100,000 precious people. Forty million workers have lost their jobs due to the pandemic. With over 100,000 deaths and 40 million jobless, some are still resisting social distancing guidelines. Some are politicizing it. It is not about politics. It is about people. God help us.
At the same time, there are race riots fueled by pent-up rage from generations of racism and oppression in America. Hatred and racism are not right. Hatred and racism are anti-Christ. God help us.
All this sickness, joblessness, and unrest is impacting mental and physical health. Stress, anxiety, and worry are having their way, wreaking havoc on one’s mind and body. Left unchecked stress and anxiety lead to heart disease, which will cause even more death. God help us.
Thirty years ago, I was preaching and warning people that if America, the most powerful nation in the world, was ever destroyed it will be from within. With a rapid decline in hunger for God and hunger for the Bible over the last three decades, we are now living in those dangerous days. America is at a crossroads. Divided from God and divided with people, we will fall. United to God and united with people, we will stand. Loving God and loving ALL people is the life Christ has called us to live. The choice is ours. God help us.
Please know today that God’s judgments are redemptive. God says, "When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:13-14 ESV)."
Yes, God’s judgments are redemptive. They will draw us close to God if we choose. As we draw close to God, he will help us. I choose to draw close to God. I choose to pray. I choose to read the Bible, God’s Word, and allow it to read me. I choose unity and not division. I choose to love and not hate. I choose to follow Christ. What will you choose?
I prayed, asking Jesus to give me a word of hope to share with you amid all the death and destruction around us. This is the Scripture he has laid on my heart to share with you: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him. So that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13 NIV)."
Beloved, I pray that God gives you a mighty baptism of his hope, his joy, and his peace by the power of the Holy Spirit. He will as you place your trust in Jesus, following him, casting all your fear, anxiety, and worry upon him in prayer.