Over the past few months, since the Corona Virus began, our family has had to make some decisions that are not necessarily popular and are seen by some as us living in fear. I have struggled in my mind asking God if we are over-reacting or if what we felt was best for our family, is His will. Are my actions contrary to faith in Him?
I want to preface everything with stating that my husband has high risk factors that make him more susceptible to death in the case of contracting this virus. So much so, that his doctor has required him to be off of work for an extended period of time. There could be a lot fear that goes into the decisions that we have made since it hits us financially, but I truly believe that we have made this decision based on our faith that God has us in His hands.
During my bible study time yesterday, the author of the study challenged the readers to do a word study on the word "faith. So, as the author of the bible study suggested, I looked up some of the verses where faith is discussed in the bible. Mind you, the word faith is found over 300 times in the bible, so I attempted to search for verses that contextually matched the type of faith I mentioned above, but only picked a few to reflect for time sake.
Hebrews 11:1-3,6 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."
Our family has faith that God is in control, even though there is no immediate evidence, we have evidence from past experiences that God is faithful to take care of those who trust in Him. God created the worlds everything in it, how can I not trust Him? Wouldn't that statement alone say He is in control? The last verse says that He rewards those who diligently seek Him.
Instead of taking this event as an attack on our civil and personal rights, or as a disruption and catastrophe to our way of life, we have decided to make the best of the situation. We are spending time together as a family. We are eating meals together every day. We are working together around the house and taking the opportunity to pour into others by giving of our time, strength and energy. We seek God's guidance in how we are teaching our children about finances, budgeting and saving as this is a financial uncertain time, but a wonderful opportunity to teach our children about being stewards of what God has given us. We seek God's guidance in our health decisions. We prayerfully consider options available to us as things open up in the community.
How has God blessed us, or "rewarded" us during this time? My husband has not been ill since March 21st. Even though he can only work for about 3 hours at a time each day, he is physically becoming stronger and healthier while we are all home together. Our children are learning the value of hard work, earning a dollar, tithing and saving. We are having family discussions at dinner, laughing together and working together on projects around our home and for others. We take fishing trips together and have been blessed in having great productive trips where both kids caught fish, which makes the time more joyous.
Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."
James 1:3 Knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience."
I Peter 5:6-11 "Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by our brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered awhile, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen."
The Christian fight is not against men, but against the powers of darkness. Satan wants to destroy faith and replace it with fear. The meaning of fear defined by Webster is:
Fear: noun: a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc. whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid. a specific instance of or propensity for such a feeling.
Fear: verb: to have fear; be afraid. To feel apprehensive or uneasy.
Satan wants Christians to be afraid. He wants to arouse our emotions and cause distress. Feelings of anger, resentment, mistrust and fear are not of God. In John 14:27 Jesus says, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you. I do not give as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
But instead, the evidence of Christ in us is reflected by the characteristics described in Galatians 5:22-23 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."
Going back to my personal question: do my families actions reflect a lack of faith? Looking at faith as an action of loving others and doing the will of God, no, our actions do not reflect a lack of faith. We are trusting in the Lord. We are diligently seeking Him in all things.
The new question is, is my family living in fear? We are not distressed. We are healthy. We are not sick. We are thriving each day to do anything the Lord calls us to do to share His love with others. We are not dwelling on the virus, but instead choosing to live a simple life with our children. We are choosing to limit our travel to fishing trips and rare trips to the local stores. We do visit with neighbors and family, but being aware of social distancing. Are we doing this out of fear? No! I love my husband. My children love their father. He is allergic to dairy products and they make him very ill. There is a possibility that if he consumed too much it could put him into anaphylactic shock. Therefore, I am very cautious when shopping, picking a restaurant to eat at and anywhere else where he might get dairy products. In our home, the threat of Covid is not a joke and we treat it the same way as we do dairy. We avoid exposure as much as possible by making sound decisions.
I Peter 2:23 Christ "who,when He was reviled, did not revile in return."
Christians are called to have faith. This is displayed by our actions and words. I know that there are many out there, believers and unbelievers, who are living in great fear, not of the virus, but of the repercussions of the decisions that have been made world wide to slow down this aggressive unknown virus. We are aware of the conspiracy theories, but OUR FAMILY is choosing to have faith in God the Father in taking care of our needs. We are still serving Him in this difficult time. We are still choosing to spread love, care and compassion to others, just in more creative ways.
We, our family, truly believe that there will never be a time of "going back to normal", but instead a new normal exists. We are choosing to embrace the new normal. We are choosing to embrace our new roles and expectations and to continue to serve the Lord our God with our whole hearts. We choose to continue to be a light in the darkness as He called us to be.
We will be faithful. We will not be fearful. We will overcome through the power, mercy and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I pray that this post helps each of you to reflect the blessings of this time. Maybe it was a kind gesture from a neighbor, an unexpected phone call or a letter you received in the mail. There will be very tough things that occur as well, I do not have my head in the sand. People are dying alone and families are without closure. Celebrations of life, weddings and new birth are being kept to a small few. Those who are at high risk, are alone and isolated. The bible calls us to take care of the oppressed poor and needy. Instead of focusing on our own losses and "I don't get to's", maybe we should be asking the Lord how we can reach out to those who are in more desperate and isolated situations than ourselves.
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for your provision and protection. Thank you for helping us find small ways to make a difference in others' lives. I lift up our leaders in prayer. I pray for those who are Christ followers that you will give them strength and wisdom and I pray that through their example others will come to know You. I pray that you will give them strength when they are weary and distraught. Thank you for taking care of our family.
In Jesus Name, Amen.
I want to preface everything with stating that my husband has high risk factors that make him more susceptible to death in the case of contracting this virus. So much so, that his doctor has required him to be off of work for an extended period of time. There could be a lot fear that goes into the decisions that we have made since it hits us financially, but I truly believe that we have made this decision based on our faith that God has us in His hands.
During my bible study time yesterday, the author of the study challenged the readers to do a word study on the word "faith. So, as the author of the bible study suggested, I looked up some of the verses where faith is discussed in the bible. Mind you, the word faith is found over 300 times in the bible, so I attempted to search for verses that contextually matched the type of faith I mentioned above, but only picked a few to reflect for time sake.
Hebrews 11:1-3,6 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."
Our family has faith that God is in control, even though there is no immediate evidence, we have evidence from past experiences that God is faithful to take care of those who trust in Him. God created the worlds everything in it, how can I not trust Him? Wouldn't that statement alone say He is in control? The last verse says that He rewards those who diligently seek Him.
Instead of taking this event as an attack on our civil and personal rights, or as a disruption and catastrophe to our way of life, we have decided to make the best of the situation. We are spending time together as a family. We are eating meals together every day. We are working together around the house and taking the opportunity to pour into others by giving of our time, strength and energy. We seek God's guidance in how we are teaching our children about finances, budgeting and saving as this is a financial uncertain time, but a wonderful opportunity to teach our children about being stewards of what God has given us. We seek God's guidance in our health decisions. We prayerfully consider options available to us as things open up in the community.
How has God blessed us, or "rewarded" us during this time? My husband has not been ill since March 21st. Even though he can only work for about 3 hours at a time each day, he is physically becoming stronger and healthier while we are all home together. Our children are learning the value of hard work, earning a dollar, tithing and saving. We are having family discussions at dinner, laughing together and working together on projects around our home and for others. We take fishing trips together and have been blessed in having great productive trips where both kids caught fish, which makes the time more joyous.
Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."
James 1:3 Knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience."
I Peter 5:6-11 "Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by our brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered awhile, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen."
The Christian fight is not against men, but against the powers of darkness. Satan wants to destroy faith and replace it with fear. The meaning of fear defined by Webster is:
Fear: noun: a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc. whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid. a specific instance of or propensity for such a feeling.
Fear: verb: to have fear; be afraid. To feel apprehensive or uneasy.
Satan wants Christians to be afraid. He wants to arouse our emotions and cause distress. Feelings of anger, resentment, mistrust and fear are not of God. In John 14:27 Jesus says, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you. I do not give as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
But instead, the evidence of Christ in us is reflected by the characteristics described in Galatians 5:22-23 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."
Going back to my personal question: do my families actions reflect a lack of faith? Looking at faith as an action of loving others and doing the will of God, no, our actions do not reflect a lack of faith. We are trusting in the Lord. We are diligently seeking Him in all things.
The new question is, is my family living in fear? We are not distressed. We are healthy. We are not sick. We are thriving each day to do anything the Lord calls us to do to share His love with others. We are not dwelling on the virus, but instead choosing to live a simple life with our children. We are choosing to limit our travel to fishing trips and rare trips to the local stores. We do visit with neighbors and family, but being aware of social distancing. Are we doing this out of fear? No! I love my husband. My children love their father. He is allergic to dairy products and they make him very ill. There is a possibility that if he consumed too much it could put him into anaphylactic shock. Therefore, I am very cautious when shopping, picking a restaurant to eat at and anywhere else where he might get dairy products. In our home, the threat of Covid is not a joke and we treat it the same way as we do dairy. We avoid exposure as much as possible by making sound decisions.
I Peter 2:23 Christ "who,when He was reviled, did not revile in return."
Christians are called to have faith. This is displayed by our actions and words. I know that there are many out there, believers and unbelievers, who are living in great fear, not of the virus, but of the repercussions of the decisions that have been made world wide to slow down this aggressive unknown virus. We are aware of the conspiracy theories, but OUR FAMILY is choosing to have faith in God the Father in taking care of our needs. We are still serving Him in this difficult time. We are still choosing to spread love, care and compassion to others, just in more creative ways.
We, our family, truly believe that there will never be a time of "going back to normal", but instead a new normal exists. We are choosing to embrace the new normal. We are choosing to embrace our new roles and expectations and to continue to serve the Lord our God with our whole hearts. We choose to continue to be a light in the darkness as He called us to be.
We will be faithful. We will not be fearful. We will overcome through the power, mercy and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I pray that this post helps each of you to reflect the blessings of this time. Maybe it was a kind gesture from a neighbor, an unexpected phone call or a letter you received in the mail. There will be very tough things that occur as well, I do not have my head in the sand. People are dying alone and families are without closure. Celebrations of life, weddings and new birth are being kept to a small few. Those who are at high risk, are alone and isolated. The bible calls us to take care of the oppressed poor and needy. Instead of focusing on our own losses and "I don't get to's", maybe we should be asking the Lord how we can reach out to those who are in more desperate and isolated situations than ourselves.
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for your provision and protection. Thank you for helping us find small ways to make a difference in others' lives. I lift up our leaders in prayer. I pray for those who are Christ followers that you will give them strength and wisdom and I pray that through their example others will come to know You. I pray that you will give them strength when they are weary and distraught. Thank you for taking care of our family.
In Jesus Name, Amen.
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