Do you hear Him?
Did you know that God will prepare you for trials in life? The past year has been exceedingly difficult. Nearly a year ago today, our family was headed down to Iowa to visit my husband's grandmother for spring break, and on our way down I distinctly remember God telling me to love well. Love well? Didn't I already love well? Unsure of what God wanted me to do, I turned to scripture to learn better what it meant to love well. I learned that Christian love is strange. We are called to love those who hate us. We are called to love unconditionally. We are supposed to love so differently from unbelievers that it causes people to notice and wonder why. For the rest of the year, I continued to study this topic and memorized relevant scripture. God brought people my way who needed to learn about Christian love. I counseled married couples to love like Christ. I walked beside others who had been deeply wounded by friends and talked to them about returning love for hate. I prayed with women who were wounded by other women in the church because so many of us choose self-love or Christian submission. Loving well became my mantra. I assumed it was because God wanted me to teach this message to others and then...
Then January came, and God asked me to live what He had taught. Sadness, shock, devastation, confusion, and many other extreme emotions flooded my soul. Yet, in the midst of the chaos that hit my marriage and our home, I distinctly heard God reminding me to love well. God through his immense grace and mercy used an entire year to prepare me for a day that only He knew would come. Tears flowed often over the next few months, but tears also came when I thought about how God set aside a full year to prepare me for a battle I never knew I would have to fight. Why would He do that for me? Who am I that God would notice me? Who am I that God would capture my attention for a full year so I could learn what I needed to know before I had to use it? Realizing the lengths that God would go to for me was exceedingly humbling. I have concluded: it is good to be loved by God.
Today, the world finds itself in the midst of another trial. This one, seemingly invisible, strikes fear in the hearts of Christians and non-Christians alike. As a virus silently creeps into homes taking lives and implanting panic. God is not surprised nor has He left us unprepared.
In the midst of crisis, Christians should think and act differently. We are fortunate to know that God is sovereign. No one stays healthy or falls ill outside of God's direction. He decides all things. He has also called us to be wise (Matthew 10:16). Our foundation should be built upon the truth of God's Word revealed to us through the Bible - not the "truth" of CNN, NBC, or Fox News; and let's be honest, certainly not the "truth" of social media.
If I had focused this past year on the opinions and emotions of others instead of God's constant reminder to love well, I would be in a very different situation today. I likely would have lost my marriage and our family. During this world's time of crisis, we can choose to focus on God's sovereignty, wisdom, and truth, or the news media, hysteria, and scientific "experts" (who all don't agree). Unlike the gossip train rolling through various forms of media, God's Truth does not change! And when the pandemic has subsided, the opinions of men will rattle on. They'll be voiced on the news, in community gatherings, at family dinners, over social media, and even at church. But human opinion is fallible, and often we are simply wrong.
Today, we have a choice. We can listen to what God is telling us, we can immerse ourselves in His Word, and we can choose to apply it to our lives, or we can listen to the world as it attempts to make up its mind. We can choose to use our voice to command everyone to stay home for the sake of their communities, OR we can choose to use our words to call people to repentance and preach the gospel. Will you be known for voicing the opinions of men or the truth of God? What is louder in your ear - the voice of God or the murmurings of men? One voice will carry you through a crisis - the others will beat you down.
Then January came, and God asked me to live what He had taught. Sadness, shock, devastation, confusion, and many other extreme emotions flooded my soul. Yet, in the midst of the chaos that hit my marriage and our home, I distinctly heard God reminding me to love well. God through his immense grace and mercy used an entire year to prepare me for a day that only He knew would come. Tears flowed often over the next few months, but tears also came when I thought about how God set aside a full year to prepare me for a battle I never knew I would have to fight. Why would He do that for me? Who am I that God would notice me? Who am I that God would capture my attention for a full year so I could learn what I needed to know before I had to use it? Realizing the lengths that God would go to for me was exceedingly humbling. I have concluded: it is good to be loved by God.
Today, the world finds itself in the midst of another trial. This one, seemingly invisible, strikes fear in the hearts of Christians and non-Christians alike. As a virus silently creeps into homes taking lives and implanting panic. God is not surprised nor has He left us unprepared.
In the midst of crisis, Christians should think and act differently. We are fortunate to know that God is sovereign. No one stays healthy or falls ill outside of God's direction. He decides all things. He has also called us to be wise (Matthew 10:16). Our foundation should be built upon the truth of God's Word revealed to us through the Bible - not the "truth" of CNN, NBC, or Fox News; and let's be honest, certainly not the "truth" of social media.
If I had focused this past year on the opinions and emotions of others instead of God's constant reminder to love well, I would be in a very different situation today. I likely would have lost my marriage and our family. During this world's time of crisis, we can choose to focus on God's sovereignty, wisdom, and truth, or the news media, hysteria, and scientific "experts" (who all don't agree). Unlike the gossip train rolling through various forms of media, God's Truth does not change! And when the pandemic has subsided, the opinions of men will rattle on. They'll be voiced on the news, in community gatherings, at family dinners, over social media, and even at church. But human opinion is fallible, and often we are simply wrong.
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. - John 10:27
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