Good morning my warrior sisters-
It's a beautiful Sunday morning in the heart of Kansas. The birds are signing loudly as the trees sway to the north winds. It's a much different picture than this morning at 6:30 AM when the winds were bending the trees in half and the rains were torrential. Isn't it strange how events come and go so fast? One minute you are in a dark and gloomy storm and then, like so much of life, the sun comes out and it's beautifully sunny and happy again.
Some trials take a season, others take years and then some are short and sweet. Unfortunately, we are not in a time like that today. Instead we are in a season similar to the seasons of the great plague or even cholera. There is no stopping point. The pains are in waves very similar to child birth. It started slowly with groaning and stretching. It graduated to great pain and the thoughts that the pain was much to much to bear and now, there's a sense of, "When will this be over?" Unlike with childbirth, we may not see the end of this pain. More is to come but there is hope if we do one thing: rend (shizo in Greek) our hearts toward Jesus.
You see we have forsaken the one true God. We have put ourselves, our beliefs and our desires before the truth. We have turned our backs, stayed silent and excluded God Almighty from our every day lives. We don't speak the name of Jesus for fear we will offend and so, we are seeing the fruits of our apathy. Many will say, "Where is God?" It's always our nature to blame everyone and everything but ourselves.
It's time to take responsibility, to stand up and offer hope to the hurting through Jesus Christ. In Joel 2: 12 (NIV), it states: "Even now," declares the Lord: "return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning."
We still have time, we still can repent and tear our hearts toward him. We can mourn with those that mourn and weep with those that weep. We are in a crisis and we must approach it with all our hearts.
I am comforted that "even now" our Lord is with us. He's waiting for us and there is so much hope in those two words. I am in awe of a God that never gives up on a spoiled, foolish people. He is a true father, a true friend.
Take a moment to thank Jesus for the sacrifice of His life. He will intercede on our behalf. He is one with the Father and through Him we will see restoration. I have no idea where COVID-19 will take us but I'm sure of this, we have a father that loves us. Even in our own iniquity, He will be there for us and all He asks is for us to return to Him with ALL of our hearts. I, for one, hold onto that promise and ask the Lord to guide us and care for us.
May today find you well. Will you please pray this prayer with me?
Almighty God, please come upon your people and heal our land. We are sorry for the apathy that has filled our hearts and minds. Draw close and light a fire in our hearts for you and only you. Protect us and provide for us, for we know that only through you is there external life. Make us courageous when we want to fear and help us to lift up our brothers and sisters in their hour of need. We pray this as one, even now with all the dissension, please heal our lands! We believe that you can. In Jesus name, AMEN!
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