Devotions with Pastor Ringa
WHAT MUST WE DO AT THIS TIME?
Exodus 14:13 King James Version (KJV)
13 And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more forever.
Psalm 121 King James Version (KJV)
121 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
2 My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.
3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.
6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
8 The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore.
INTRODUCTION:
What we never hope and what we never dream in our dream is happening now in the world. The coronavirus changes all of our plans and drag down all the people to fear. All people are afraid of it. Yes! Of course, it is so dangerous. We heard a new term we never use in our life like quarantine, shut down lockdown, stockings. I really thought that America will never face scarcity of anything but now, there is no place to buy toilet paper and hand sanitizer. I don't know, you may know where to buy but I don't know right now. At this time many Christians are afraid of the coronavirus: they have stress and may be restless. And some Christians may still depend on the government, and therefore when the government can do nothing for them they may condemn and maybe get angry at it. So, I will discuss what we should do at this time. I think this is so important for this time.
From where does the help will come?
When we face trouble, we forget to ask for the help of God and try to find help from others. Last Saturday pastor John told me that many people still hope that deliverance comes from the government but not from God. In the beginning, I also thought that this virus will not affect America, but now what happening we all know. Now it threatens not only America but also all over the world. So what should we do now?
The Psalmist said that 121 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
2 My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.
3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.
6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
8 The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore.
As a human, the Psalmist also, in the beginning, tries to find help from another place, but as who believes God, later he knows and he realizes that the help will come from God only, not from another place. Lord is our keeper who never sleeps. He is the best and the most faithful keeper.
So, at this time the help will come from God, not from the government and not from another place.
What must we do at this time?
While Moses and Israelite people were encamped by the red sea, they saw that the Egyptian pursued them, they were afraid of them and were so terrified and they shouted to the Lord. And they condemn Moses. And Moses said do not be afraid of them and to stand firm and he told them that they will see the deliverance of God. Their station is almost the same with us. Behind them, Egyptian armies were there and will try to kill them all. They all know and experience how much the Egyptian army were strong and terrible. In front of them, there was the great vast red see. They can do nothing. Now, many people are affecting coronavirus here in the USA, even in Iowa, there is no place to go and to hide.
At this time, what should we do? The answer is, let us not be afraid and let us stand firm and let us watch what God will do in America, let us watch what God will do in this world. That is the best thing we should do right now. One day God will let us discover the vaccine and the medicine for this virus. And may be God will move away all this virus.
Conclusion:
We all know that this pandemic threatens us and the world is afraid of it. And we all know that we can do nothing till today. There is no medicine and no vaccine yet. But we the Christian have hope that God will deliver us from this pandemic. The help will come soon from God. So, let us not afraid of this pandemic and let us stand firm and let us watch what our God will do very soon. Being a Christian, the best thing we must do today is to watch what God will do.