Stay Calm and Keep Going
On 12 March 2020, The Telegraph reported that Professor Chris Whitty, England’s Chief Medical Officer, said that he expects that the UK would reach the peak of its corona virus outbreak in about 10 to 14 weeks. “If you move too early, people get fatigued,” he said, when he was asked about how to respond effectively to the virus. His response was that “This is a long haul.”
We are a now a year on into this pandemic and it remains the same where God is concerned – we must stay CALM, PRAY AND KEEP MOVING FORWARD.
Proverbs 4:20-22 says “My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my saying; Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; For they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh.”
You can never overdose on the Word of God. You can increase your intake any time and during this time it’s imperative that you double up your medication of the Word so that it guards your mind and your heart.
As we come to the realisation of who we are in Christ Jesus and understand just how powerful our weapons and armour really are, we will begin to take charge over the forces of darkness. Darkness can never control or destroy light!
Let’s look at Genesis 1:2-3: “And the earth was without form, and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”
The darkness instantly fled from the light! Now, look at 1 John 1:5
“God is Light, and in HIM is NO darkness AT ALL.” The Passion Translation says it like this, “God is pure light. You will never find even a trace of darkness in Him”. We are IN HIM and not only are we in Him – in the light – we are children of the light – 1 Thessalonians 5:5, born of the light and we put on the ARMOUR of light = Romans 13:12. And we’re commanded to walk in the light as He is in the light!
2 Corinthians 10:3–4 “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down of strongholds.”
Satan’s weapons are carnal!! He has NO power at all except what he can get from someone yielding to the flesh – especially in violation of the commandment of love. Remember, perfect love casts out fear. When the commandment of love is violated, the spirit of fear is present. He comes immediately to steal the Word of God. He can’t do that once you and I repent. The moment we act on 1 John 1:9, and get back into verse 7, he is finished.
Verse 7 says “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.
Satan always uses terror tactics to control people. One of his weapons is fear – the fear of death. Jesus totally defeated satan and the fear of death on the cross. Fear connects to the spirit of death the way Faith connects to the Spirit of Life. Faith activates the law of the Spirit of life, and fear activates the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2).
Isaiah 54:14-15 “In righteousness you shall be established; you shall be far from oppression; for you shall not fear and from the terror; for it shall not come near you. Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me; whosoever shall gather together against you shall fall for your sake.”
And then Isaiah 54:17 declares that: “No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgement you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD and their righteousness is of me, declares the LORD.”
Note: No weapon formed against you shall prosper – the weapon will be aimed at you but it will not succeed or be to your detriment!
This is our blood-covenant heritage; anywhere, anytime, for anyone who will HAVE FAITH IN GOD. Mark 11:22 say “Have faith in God” If you have no faith in God it’s hard to speak effectively to the mountain and command that mountain to be removed and be cast into the sea.
James 5:16–18 declares “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain and it didn’t rain on the land. Then he prayed and the heavens gave rain and the earth produced its crop.”
Prayer is a weapon that “has divine power to demolish strongholds” and to pray effectively we must pray with faith knowing that God hears us when we pray.
In Psalm 4:1 David called out to the Lord saying “Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness. You have relieved me in my distress; Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer”
Psalm 91, this is what I call the soldier’s Psalm. READ it out loud.
Now read verse 5 and 7
Right there is victory over death and it belongs to us but only if we say it. None of it works without verse 2 “I will say of the LORD”. We must speak out the scriptures as well as meditate upon them.
Ephesians 6:13–18 are instructions for spiritual warfare and how we must be equipped……Put on your helmet of salvation; slip into your mighty breastplate of righteousness; strap on that big weapon belt of truth, and hang the sword of the Spirit on it. Put on your boots on. These boots are the preparation of the gospel of peace. Now take the shield of faith. Strap it on your arm. It’s taller than your head and goes right down to your feet.
We have to get to the point of trusting and believing what God says and obeying what He says in the midst of any challenges we may face.
2 Corinthians 5:7 says “For we walk by faith and not by sight”
Jesus has provided us with the strength, the grace and the FAITH for any situation. Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not yet see with our natural eyes.
Philippians 4:19 (AMPC) says: “And my God will liberally supply (fill to the full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” In other words, it’s a supply that will never run out. But we have to be intentional about aligning our thoughts and words with HIS WORD.
Take encouragement and continue to stay CALM and filter what you listen to. It is good to focus on the greatness of our God rather than the magnitude of the crisis.
God want us to hold our nerves in the midst of the storm. We are reminded in 2 Timothy 1:7 not to be afraid. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind.”
It is important to remember that fear in any shape or form does not come from God. “…God is love.” 1 John 4:8. “There is no fear in love but perfect love drives out all fear.” 1 John 4:18.
Let’s not react out of fear but out of a Godly wise and sound mind. Stand firm and strong and be courageous. Remember, courage is not the absence of fear – it is the ability to act inspite of fear!
PRAYER IS ESSENTIAL AND NECESSARY
We should pray for:
- each other
- those affected by the virus and are in isolation
- those in hospital undergoing treatment
- those who are grieving having lost their loved ones
- our government – that wisdom and excellent judgement will prevail as they make difficult decisions on a daily basis
- families who have lost loved one as a result of this virus
- our NHS staff working tirelessly to provide care
- our communities as everyone tries to do their part
- for the financial livelihood of families, businesses, corporate companies
- the international community as a whole
Continue to offer a helping hand to neighbours and those who cannot get out. It may be to buy milk or bread. Everyone helping does matter and these acts of kindness mean so much.
Let’s be an extension of God’s hand in love, care, kindness and compassion. Joshua told the children of Israel after spying out the Promised Land – “The Lord is with us. Do not be afraid”
The Lord is with you. Do not be afraid. When God fights our battles, the result is ALWAYS victory. The Word of God says it in Deuteronomy 31:6-8 (NIV) “Be strong and courageous…for the Lord your God goes with you….The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you or forsake you. Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged.” This is a powerful promise to us. God has never lost a battle (and He won’t lose this one). He is absolutely undefeated. When we trust Him to fight our battles, there is no way we can lose.
I pray that you abound in the grace of God for the times ahead. Keep drawing from God and be full of the Spirit of God. His strength is made perfect in our weaknesses and He will give us courage for each day. Nothing we face will be too much for God to handle. We will overcome every obstacle, every challenge and come through every difficulty better than we were before.
“For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever.” Amen.