Please read this with me. Slowly.
“And He said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, at once you say, ‘It is going to rain,’ and it does. And when you see a south wind blowing, you say, ‘It is going to be very hot,’ and so it is. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret day by day the look of earth and sky. Then how is it that you do not know how to interpret the present crisis?” Luke 12:54-56 (Williams Version)
Jesus spoke to people who were religious, and he
called them hypocrites because they knew science and astronomy and were so
smart that they could look at the sky and predict the weather, yet were
ignorant about what was going on in their spiritual environment. They knew what
was happening. They saw ‘the present crisis’ but they didn’t care to know the
underlying spiritual cause.
To those of us who believe that there is a God who is over all, this is at once thought provoking and challenging. The KJV renders the last part of the passage this way: “How is it that ye do not discern this time?”
Today I see the same thing going on among believers. I just got back on social media and immediately began to see how
people are already fighting each other on the coronavirus. I plan to speak more
on this in my next few posts, but I want to encourage believers to see the
bigger picture.
This is not just about a virus. Life, as we know
it, is going to be forever altered. This isn’t the last of this kind that will
come upon the world. I’m concerned that so many Christians are not prepared for
what is to come. It bothers me that so many are downplaying and even ridiculing
the healing power of God. It also bothers me that some are already acting
presumptuously, without any solid spiritual basis, to make silly claims.
You see, a time is coming when nowhere will be
safe from this kind of thing except under the shadow of Jehovah’s ‘wings.’ You
can already see how this unseen scourge is already invading the bodies of
‘commoners’, celebrities and even government officials. Seven feet tall
security men standing at the door cannot stop this.
I see as many Christians are jumping the gun. In a
situation like this, you don’t just act or talk anyhow or make wild claims.
Have you discerned this time? Have you prayed? Have you intermeddled with the
Word of power and received divine instruction for yourself and your family?
The governments of the world are doing what they
can, and it is actually showing in many cases that they are as confused as many
people out there. Some Christians are ready to obey whatever the government
says, no matter the cost. They talk as if the government is perfect and knows
everything and has never made declarations in the past that hurt the populace.
Others are for anarchy and see nothing good in whatever the government says.
My questions are this: do we still remember that
we are citizens of heaven? Do we still realize that we can be led by the Holy
Spirit in all this? Do we still realize that God has a plan for our well being
and wants us to be well in all this? Have we as individuals taken the time to settle
down with the Spirit of God to deal with this matter as it relates to us and
our loved ones? When last did you pray for those in the positions of authority
to know the right thing to do about this?
The worse this gets, the more the heart of man
will be revealed. The selfishness, the greed, the lies, the predatory
tendencies that has laid dormant in many will blossom and go for the kill. You
must not be part of the loveless. You must not bow down to fear.
We must go back to the manual and check what has
been prescribed for this particular time. We have a role to play. We can
receive divine direction on this. The pretensions of expertise on something
that is clearly novel doesn’t make any sense. The One who know it all is the
one who can lead and guide us.
What I’m saying is this: this is a time that must be correct discerned. Your opinion may be good, but God’s opinion is better. For us believers, physical precautions alone aren’t enough. After we’ve done all we can as sensible human beings, we must realize that our primary source of protection is in God. Those who don’t believe as we do will do all they can to browbeat us into submission and abandoning the faith that has been sustaining us. We must not be cowed.
“The just shall live by faith.”
We believe in divine protection. We believe God heals. Above all these, we are getting to understand that this time is a time of God’s power.
