Pastor Kyle continues, that
here is where I am going with this; “God is our guard. He is in control and if
this virus is given the “go-ahead” to get into our body’s system then that
ultimately was His will for our lives. And how we fare from it is also in His
hands. Thank God, doctors and other medical professionals can do something in
the care and treatment, but we as Believers must ultimately trust our lives
into the hands of God. Our God is our guard, but don’t put the Lord to the
test, disregarding safe and healthy guidelines and practices which will recklessly
expose you to this deadly virus. We are not invincible. That cannot be our life
protection plan.
1 Peter 1:6-7 “In
this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you
have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of
your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it
is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the
revelation of Jesus Christ.”
The Apostle Peter makes it
clear that trials are something necessary for a while, though these trials can
deeply grieve us, even as Believers of God. Yet, Peter says, in this you greatly rejoice. The next
affirmation is that we can be truly glad in our current trials, even if it goes
on for a while. A trial is a test that does not last long. You can pretend to
be glad about something when you are really not. We’ve all had to put on a
happy face during a certain situation before. There are even certain situations
where “fake it until you make it” is a good practice because it’s better not to
be constantly sad and never moving forward. But, there are other times in life
when you feel truly happy and it flows out of you naturally.
What the Apostle Peter is
implying is that for the Believer, we can be truly be glad and rejoicing, even
in the midst of a trial like the one we are facing right now. You do not have
to be “fake” glad in this pandemic. We can be truly glad. The issue is “how do
we process our emotions when we are going through trials?” I love that Peter
acknowledges the grief. Here are a few thoughts on how to get to a place of
gladness in a trial. First, never dismiss or deny your own trials or those of
others. If you just constantly shut it down or bury it, or tell other people: “Don’t
panic, don’t worry, and you’re over reacting, that is not dealing with the
emotions being experienced and rarely helps you or them. Secondly, instead,
acknowledge, affirm and identify with them. Say something like: “I hear what
you are saying. That’s really a heavy burden to bear and I’m really sorry that
you are going through that situation right now.”
Thirdly, allow yourself to
grieve the grief that you feel right now. We are all collectively grieving the
loss of normalcy in our lives. We all have been nationally and globally affected
physically, socially and emotionally with isolation and distancing, economically
and financially with suspension of commerce, livelihood, and the investment for
our future, now uncertain. And with a heavy heart, some of us are grieving the
loss of a loved one to this plague. We are all in a massive state of grief that
we haven’t even began to process. We need to let ourselves feel that sense of
grief before it rears its ugly head in other areas of our lives. So allow yourself to feel the grief now.
And finally, give the
situation to God. We should be genuine and acknowledge the pain of our current
situation while actively working to get ourselves to a better place. If you are
not actively working to get yourself on stable ground then you are allowing
yourself to get stuck where you are. Giving your situation to God is not just praying
about it, hoping that it all gets better. That’s the first step, but when we
pray, God tells us to actively do something about it.
James 1:2-4 “My
brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing
that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience
have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete,
lacking nothing.”
Also, when we give a
situation to God, we are letting Him turn it into gold n our lives. When gold
is refined, it is heated to an extremely high temperature so the impurities can
rise to the top and be skimmed off. The result is pure gold, perfect and complete, lacking nothing. Well,
that is what God does with trials in our lives. In His hands, the impurities of
our life rise to the top to be removed in sanctification. Give this virus and
all of the negatives from this pandemic to God and let Him turn it to gold in
your life. It is not an easy time for us, but God is still our guard. May grace
and peace be multiplied in you.
In Christ, Brian
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