In the name of the Father, the Son, & the Holy Spirit, One God, Amen!
Time to Rejoice!
“Rejoice always!” In the first Thessalonians 5:16, we are told to "rejoice..." not when times are good or when times are okay, "ALWAYS!" As Christians, it is in times of trouble when we SHINE brightly. That’s when we can show GOD our unshakable and unwavering faith. Romans 12:12 reminds us that in times like this (during a pandemic) we should be "rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer."
Our past fathers thanked God for opportunities like this knowing “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him” (James 1:12). For example, saints like Job, Abraham, Paul, were some of the many saints in the Bible who went through many trials but they stood the test of time like Mount Zion. It made no sense to them to worry, be fearful, or lose faith. They reasoned, “...Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity” (Job 2:10). They rejoiced in all their tribulations and God gave them double, triple, quadruple of whatever they had and more. Most importantly, they received eternal life in the un-passing world.
There is a breakout of Coronavirus, so what? Shall we die in fear? Shall we stop going to church? Shall we lose faith? Shall we be worried? No, no, no, and no! This is our time to rejoice in the Lord. Thank God it isn’t something worse. Thank God that He thinks we are worthy to pass through this trail. Thank God we have an opportunity to come together for prayer. Thank God that we have a loving and forgiving father.
We are quarantined for a few weeks, so what? Now we have more time to focus on Lent. More time to PRAY, read the Bible, enjoy the company of our loved ones, care for those who are sick, catch up on our studies, clean our homes, etc.
How can we be worried about such a virus when we have a God who so loved us that He gave His son for our salvation. Would the same God not have mercy on us? Would the same God forsake us? Would the same God let anything that is not good for us to happen to us? Knowing all we know about our God, we must “Be joyful always, pray at all times, be thankful in all circumstances. This is what God wants from [us]...” to do what we can and leave the rest to Him (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). The power of surrendering to God is immense and stops the forthcoming of other unfortunate events. It is in our best interest to humble ourselves and understand that all that comes from God is good even if we might not be able to see the good in it. As the world loses faith, we are to keep calm saying, “The will of the Lord be done” (Acts 21:14). The bottom line is that as Christians we should only be scared of our sins.
Glory to God,
Beiza
