Then all of a sudden, his world turned upside down and shattered. But, he relied on God to pull him up out of what felt like to him a deep, dark pit. He concludes his testimony, though, with these words that still reverberate today, “Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning” (Psalm 30:5).

To respond to a request from Old Line/WesBanco about the impact of COVID on the church, we had to reflect on the changes our church has undertaken over the past 6 months. The conclusion is that God has really blessed us.

She praises God, for only by His grace was she spared.  God’s word is true: “Neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling” (Psalm 91). And not a worry about contracting the virus, either.

“Low-grade depression” is how Michelle Obama described her feelings while facing simultaneously a lengthy quarantine, daily news about racial injustices, and the exasperating course of action and inaction taken by the current administration.  But we must remember, that our confidence is in the Lord. He will never leave us.

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9).  Yes, the context of this Scripture verse is about being faithful to the Holy Spirit until the end, and about not becoming spiritually fatigued in doing the right thing.  However, we can follow this same principle of doing good as we stare down the most serious global pandemic in generations. 

“I think I made a mistake, I thought it was a hoax.  It was not.”  Those were the last words of a dying young man from Texas spoken to his nurse just before he slipped away.  He had attended a COVID-19 party to test the veracity of the claims about the severity of the virus.  He discovered the truth he was searching for, but it was too late.

After dismissing the impact of the corona virus and its ease of transmission, they are now seeing how their decisions to mock public safety warnings have led to a crisis of care at hospitals with no end in sight, only gloom along the way. However, God is extending the hope of His protection to those who believe in Him, and we are basing that hope on His promises found in Psalm 91:

Similar to our Virtual Day of Prayer, we will host An Hour Of Power, an hour in prayer, during which time we’ll minister to churches and others who may find themselves going through the trial of their lives.  As we introduce the prayer time with the promises found in Psalm 91, we will relay a message of hope and encouragement from the Lord to whomever can make it on the call. 

“Apocalyptic.” That’s the word used to describe the severity of the recent surge of coronavirus infections in parts of the country that had escaped the impact of the initial wave. However, because certain statistics are lagging indicators, there’s a great fear that we have not seen the worst of the latest surge yet. In a couple of weeks, scenes from these regions may be too gruesome to comprehend.

Satan stands before us with wide open arms, reminiscent of the image of Jesus Christ inviting us to enter into His kingdom; but our enemy this time is welcoming all who choose not to follow the truth.

We get the impression that God is standing at the door and knocking, waiting for an invitation to enter. But, a fitting reminder during this time is this: Psalm 91: 3 “Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence.”

People of all ages, races and walks of life around the globe are protesting the lack of justice in the land, while many of its citizens are being mistreated at the hands of their protectors. They are demanding that righteousness run down like a mighty stream from all corners of society (Amos 5:24).

Coupled with the needless death of persons of color by officers sworn to protect and defend them, the resulting anger, frustration and rage have overshadowed any personal concern for being infected by the virus. How all of this unfolds is uncertain. But what is certain is that God is the one who is still in control.

Guidance from health officials that cover various stages of readiness indicate that the church is not yet in a position to safely resume services as normal, despite the pleas and intervention from political leaders. Member safety will always take precedence over political and financial considerations.

“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek (Barak Obama).” God revealed to us a similar expression during our Virtual Day of Prayer on Friday. “We are the answer to our prayers.”

When so much is at stake, we need wisdom to discern truth from error. We also need God’s guidance to keep us safe and to not simply follow after others.

Solomon set for us the example to follow to overcome our own weaknesses and take on God’s strength, a strength that comes from hearing His voice, to face any unexpected challenge. As a result God honored Solomon’s prayer.