corona virus – PAOLOPUNZALAN.COM

WHEN THE BATTLE IS LONG, GOD’S COMMAND IS TO BE STRONG.

We are in faith for a cure to COVID 19.

However, we are told that the vaccine could take about 18 months.

God sometimes takes us out of the storm.

But there are times God takes us through the storm.

Jesus healed Blind Bartimaeus.

But didn’t take Paul’s thorn out of his flesh.

But he did say “My grace is sufficient.’

But while we are in the midst of the storm, what do we do?

In Joshua 1:2-7, God was leading the Israelites into their promised land. Moses is dead. He was the one who led them through the desert for 40 years. Now Joshua, his assistant, has taken over as leader. They are facing giants in the land. It won’t be a quick take over. This took some time. There were miracles like the falling of the Jericho wall but there were still many lands and people groups to conquer.

We are in the middle of a pandemic and it seems like this may take some time.

In the midst of the battle, when it gets extended, what do we do?

When the battle is long, the command is to be strong.

How can we be strong in the midst of a battle?

1/ Hold on to God’s promises.

Joshua 1:3. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses.

We need to be familiar with the promises God has given us as his children.

And then hide them in our hearts.

It will get us through the hardest of times.

I remember going to Baguio with my family as a kid. Those days, we still didn’t have TPLEX and SCTEX, our nice highways. Thus, it would take 8-9 hours to get there. But the promise my mom gave was that I would get choco flakes from Good Shepherd. That kept me enduring through the gruelling journey.

2/ Be confident of God’s presence.

Joshua 1:5. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you.

One thing is for sure, because He is with me, I going to be okay.

In fact, no one or no thing will be able to stand before me… not even this pandemic.

HE. IS. WITH. ME.

Growing up in an all boys school, fist fights weren’t uncommon. Especially during basketball games, we would get into fights. But as long as I had Bien, my team mate and good friend with me, I was okay. He was strong and courageous. Magaling manindak.

But we have someone way bigger and stronger than a team mate.

We have the God of the universe by our side.

He is for us and not against us.

3/ Embrace God’s precepts.

Joshua 1:7. Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.

God has given us principles to live by.

Not because he is a cosmic killjoy.

He gave them so that we can live the full and abundant life he has prepared for us.

Sin will keep us from our destiny.

Disobedience will deter us from our purpose

But his Word will keep us aligned and calibrated that we may bring him glory.

As we study His word, it will do us well to obey his word.

We are commanded to obey His Word for our good and ultimately for His glory.

His Word is a light unto our path and a lamp unto our feet.

His word doesn’t just teach us but also trains us for war.

This is so critical especially when times like what we have come, we can stand our ground and keep moving forward until we get to the other side.

When the battle is long, the command is to be strong.

Strong in his promises.

Strong in his presence.

Strong in his precepts.

WHAT CAN WE DO WHEN WE FACE CRISIS?

With the continuous threat of a major outbreak of COVID-19, what can I do to respond?

Last week, during our Metro Manila pastors meeting, Pastor Gilbert Foliente encouraged us from God’s Word. Sharing from Genesis 41, he presented principles we can glean from when the people of God were also faced with a major crisis which at that time was famine.

External threats are beyond our control. Romans 8 describes to us that the “world groans.” There is going to be a new heaven and a new earth. But in the mean time, what can we do?

Egypt, during the time of Joseph, had the threat of famine. The Pharaoh asked Joseph to interpret his dreams. What happened during that time gave us a template on how to respond when crisis hits.

1. TRUST GOD FULLY.

The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon. (Genesis 41:32, NIV)

All that happens in God’s creation does not escape God’s attention. He is sovereign and He is in full control. This means that nothing takes Him by surprise.

Because of this, we can trust that though we may not know what the future holds, we do know Who holds it.

Psalm 33:11-12 says, “The LORD foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.”

2. LEAD CONFIDENTLY.

“And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt.” (Genesis 41:33)

Every one of us are in some form of leadership capacity. We lead teams, families, units, corporations, organizations. At the very least, we lead ourselves. And as we lead, we can influence others positively.

Joseph was placed in charge over all of Egypt. And after that, he led with confidence knowing that it was God that was ultimately leading him. He wasn’t looking for a job. He was just there as a messenger. But God raised him up for His purposes.

In times of crisis, will we be the voice of faith or the voice of fear?
In times of trouble, will we be a beacon of hope or a source of unbelief?

Joseph trusted God to give him wisdom. We can do too.
Wisdom is being able to do the right thing at the right time.
Joseph had discernment.

And discernment is being able to distinguish between two options.
God has the ability to empower us with discernment to make the right decisions.

3. WORK IMMEDIATELY.

He was thirty years old when he began serving in the court of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. And when Joseph left Pharaoh’s presence, he inspected the entire land of Egypt. (Genesis 41:46, NLT)

As soon as Joseph left Pharaoh’s presence, he worked instantaneously. He didn’t take his sweet time. He went for it right away.

When crisis hits and danger is immanent, we need to be decisive and work swiftly because it can mean life or death.

The famine during Joseph’s time wasn’t coming until 7 years after his appointment as Governor. But he went to work right away.

4. PREPARE THOROUGHLY.

He was thirty years old when he began serving in the court of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. And when Joseph left Pharaoh’s presence, he inspected the entire land of Egypt. (Genesis 41:46, NLT)

As soon as Joseph left Pharaoh’s presence, not only did he work immediately, he prepared thoroughly by inspecting the entire land of Egypt. He studied, learned, evaluated, surveyed, supervised, worked. He did all he can to prepare for the famine.

We will believe God for the best.

But we will also prepare for the worst case scenario.
The important thing is to stay connected to the Holy Spirit so that He can give us clear instructions for what we need to do.

At the end of the narrative, we see in Genesis 41:57 that “… all the world came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe everywhere.” In the midst of crisis, Joseph, who represented the people of God, became a blessing to the world.

As we encounter crises, whether current or future, we can trust God fully, lead confidently, work immediately and prepare thoroughly. And as we do, the people of God, the church can be a blessing to the rest of the world.

HOW CAN I RESPOND IN LIGHT OF THE COVID-19 CONCERNS?

There are a garden variety ways to react but God has given us ways to respond through His Word.

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7, NKJV)

God has not given us a spirit of fear. In the midst of COVID-19 concerns, Christ followers (the church) can shine as light and serve as a preservative of faith like salt. This is not a time to move in fear but to move in faith because of what God has given us.

1. POWER

There is power available to us and that is the power of prayer. The God we serve is ALL MIGHTY. He is omnipotent. That means, He has the ability to arrest this virus whether supernaturally or medically.

That being said, Jesus declared in Matthew 18:19, “Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.” We can agree in prayer and trust God for the results.

2. LOVE

Jesus tells us to love as we have been loved by Him (John 13:34). By His death in Calvary, He demonstrated the full extent of His love for us for all of eternity. Our sins have been forgiven and our eternal life has been secured.

Because of this love that we have received, we are now empowered to love others. We need to move in love.

Thus, there’s no room for xenophobia, apathy, neglect, malevolence or even detestation.

The early church conquered Rome through love in the midst of famine, pestilence and plague. They had no power, influence or wealth and yet through love, Christianity spread all over Rome.

3. SOUND MIND

Faith without works is dead. While we will continue to trust God through all these, we will move in wisdom. We have been given preventive measures by the World Health Organization. It will be wise to follow them. Following preventive measures does not mean there’s no faith. We have been given a sound mind to exercise wisdom in these times.

May we continue to move in faith not fear, love not malevolence and wisdom not neglect.