Ever since the COVID-19
outbreak has paralyzed our world, it seems that all we hear from the 24/7 media
machine is bad news. Fueled by panic and uncertainty our world news is bent towards
reporting the worst-case scenario. As the old journalism saying goes, “If it
bleeds, it leads.” I get it—we can’t sugarcoat the crisis. Reporting the daily
death toll and the rising unemployment rates is necessary in coming to grips
with the pandemic. But after a while, the constant barrage of negativity has a
way of wearing your spirit down and leaving your mind frayed. The cumulative
effect is that in the darkness you can lose perspective.
Right now, Christians all
over the world are singing the words to the modern praise anthem, “Waymaker,”
which reminds us: “Even when I can’t see it, you’re working. Even when I can’t
feel it, you’re working. You never stop, you never stop working.” (click here to listen) As God’s people we know that’s true from Scripture. God works
invisibly, powerfully and providentially behind the scenes. Darkness, disease
and death do not arrest His hands. In fact, we see in the Bible several
instances in which God’s servants had to take a step back from whatever adversity
swallowed them up and be reminded that God was carrying out a secret, sovereign
plan.
·
Elijah wanted to
die and was convinced that there was no hope for Israel, yet God reminded him
in a still, small voice, “Elijah, you aren’t the only one in the world serving
me.” 1 Kings 19 says, “ 18 Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all
whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”
·
When John the
Baptist was in prison facing execution, he started doubting his ministry and his
endorsement of Jesus. He sent messengers to Jesus to ask if He really was the
Messiah. 4 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things
which you hear and see: 5 The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are
cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel
preached to them. 6 And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.” (Matt. 11:4-6)
·
Paul was no stranger
to criticism. Even while in prison he heard that some of his critics were preaching
Christ with mixed motives. Despite his chains, Paul rejoiced that at least some
one was preaching the Gospel, writing, “18 What then? Only that in every
way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I
rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.” (Phil. 1:18)
What I take from these examples
is that God’s people should be looking for the silver lining in each storm
cloud. Yes, there are problems all around, but God is able to bring good from
evil, triumph from trials. Presently, there is a lot of good news that isn’t
being reported by the mainstream. In fact, here are just a few encouraging stories
that I’ve run across.
·
More people than
ever are tuning into hear the Word of God preached from churches doing live
stream services.
I can attest to this
personally. The little church where I serve, Liberty Baptist in Candler, NC,
has had our videos viewed hundreds of times by people all over the country. A
few days before Palm Sunday, President Trump tweeted that he was planning on
watching Pastor Greg Laurie’s service. Because of Trump’s plug, the church Laurie
pastors, Harvest Chapel in Riverside, CA, reported that their Palm Sunday webcast
service drew 1.3 million people, with 11,207 people indicating through an online
forum they were making decisions to begin a relationship with Christ! Laurie commented,
“I have been preaching the Gospel for 45 years. I have never seen an
opportunity like this, where people are open. We have the technology to reach
them.”[1]
·
Bible sales
have skyrocketed.
While the vast majority of
Americans own Bibles, a large percentage say they’ve never read it, but it
appears this crisis and social distancing measures are changing that. Bible
retailers like Alabaster have seen a 143% increase of Bible sales. Lifeway is
up 62% and so is Tyndale. The CEO of Lifeway, Ben Mandrell said, “We believe
this is no accident, as people often go to the Bible as a source of hope in
times of crisis and uncertainty. People draw hope from Scripture because in it
they see a God who is with us during our suffering.”[2]
·
Christ is
being glorified in some surprising ways.
Each day, President Trump
holds media briefings from the Coronavirus Taskforce. On March 31, 2020 Trump
invited the CEO of My Pillow company, Mike Lindell, to share the podium.
Lindell announced that he retooled three-fourths of his company’s manufacturing
capability to make cotton face masks for health care workers. He said the
company is aiming to produce 10,000 to 50,000 masks a day. At the end of his
speech, Lindell made some “off-the-cuff” remarks. Here’s what he said (click here to watch the video):
“God
gave us grace on November 8, 2016, to change the course we were on. God had
been taken out of our schools and lives. A nation had turned its back on God. I
encourage you to use this time at home to get back in the Word, read our Bibles
and spend time with our families...With our great president, vice president
and this administration and all the great people in this country praying daily,
we will get through this and get back to a place that's stronger and safer than
ever.”[3]
·
People are recovering
from COVID-19 and God is answering the prayers of His people.
CNN reported the story of a Rome, Georgia man, Clay Bentley, who was admitted into the hospital with a case of pneumonia. Bentley’s case worsened and when doctors tested him for COVID-19 he was positive. Bentley was near death and could hardly breathe. But Clay’s church family started a fervent prayer vigil for his healing. To the amazement of doctors, Clay pulled through. Clay even received a phone call from Vice President Mike Pence who encouraged him and prayed with him during the ordeal! When reporters asked Clay and his wife what got them through, they said, “It's been a hard road. But I’m here to tell you, that when you've got the word of God to stand on, there ain’t no weapon formed against you that can prosper.”[4] (click here to watch the video)
My friends, don’t give
into the darkness. The Gospel light is still shining. God is not dead and God
is not done! We have yet to see all the wonderful things that our God can do.
-DM
[1]
Samuel Smith, “Greg Laurie's Palm Sunday webcast draws 1.3M viewers, Trump:
People are open to the Gospel,” Christian Post, 6 April 2020 <https://www.christianpost.com/news/greg-lauries-palm-sunday-webcast-draws-13m-viewers-trump-people-are-open-to-the-gospel.html>
[2]
Caleb Parke, “Coronavirus outbreak spurs record Bible purchases: ‘People are
looking for hope,’” Fox News, 6 April 2020 <https://www.foxnews.com/faith-values/coronavirus-bible-book-update-sales-record>
[3]
Jason Silverstein, “MyPillow CEO tells Americans to pray and read the Bible
during appearance at White House coronavirus briefing,” CBS NEWS, 31
March 2020 <https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mypillow-ceo-tells-americans-to-pray-and-read-the-bible-during-white-house-coronavirus-briefing/>
[4]
Sarah Taylor, “Georgia coronavirus patient details scary health struggle, says
Pence personally called him with prayers,” The Blaze, 12 March 2020 <https://www.theblaze.com/news/georgia-coronavirus-patient-details-scary-struggle-says-pence-personally-called-him-with-prayers>
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