God Speaking

“This is what the Lord says to you, Do not be discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s”

(2 Chronicles 20: 17)

We are living in a world filled with fear and panic. The spread of this ugly virus is sweeping through the world and the media is filling us with more dread every day as the numbers grow and strict rules come into play which are limiting our social contact with others which is so necessary for our human spirits . Even our churches are closed for worship. What we need to remember is that we do not need a building to talk to our Heavenly Father. He is ready always to hear our fears, to comfort us with his love, to  help us make decisions,  to direct our paths and he loves for us to tell him how much we love him, all we need to do is to pray to him. 

Corrie ten Boom lived in a terrifying time of history, World War 2  and even ending up in prison, she kept her faith and was able to survive and encourage thousands by her positive approach to the storms of life for those who followed after her. One of her powerful messages is this one;

If you look at the world you will be distressed

If you look within you will be depressed

But if you look at Christ you will be at rest.

We have many powerful stories in the Old Testament, that tell us of how the children of Israel were involved in terrifying situations, often visiting armies, with vast numbers of soldiers far outnumbering them, attacking them. When they remembered to cry out to God, he answered them by reminding them that he was with them and always would be, so when we cry out to him, he does the same for us.  He reminds them that the battle is not theirs but his (2 Chronicles 20: 17) so too for us. We cannot possibly defeat what happens, but we can hand the battle over to him so that fear does not paralyze us.

The other verse I love is in Proverbs 3, where we are urged to trust the Heavenly Father and he will direct our paths and not let our own feeble human understanding sweep over us.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3: 5)

By hanging on to the promises of God we will not be bowed down by the news and we will have the strength to cope and to help as much as we can to follow what we have been asked to do and at the same time spread the words of encouragement from  our Father to our families, our friends and we can still use the phone the internet to send out the gospel so spirits will be lifted and despair will not take over

“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4: 16)