I know right now there is so much information about the corona virus, or COVID 19, this is not an informative post about that. But seeing as we as humanity, are facing this epidemic together, I think about how we can overcome something that each one of us whether infected or not is dealing with in some way or another and that is stress, anxiety, worry, and fears and at the end of this post my goal is for this to encourage, to offer hope, light, truth, something to trust in, something to grasp on to, but also a reminder of the seriousness of our souls.

Things have been changing and they have been changing SO FAST! For many of us too fast for our liking….

With everyone of us, dealing with this differently, in our own way, each one of our lives have been impacted in some way or another, 

So if you are reading this, I understand compared to some people, my life has really not been impacted much by this… our home life hasn’t faced too much change, because I’m a stay at home mom, homeschool to a certain degree, 1 kid in public school, and for the last 11 years every 2 weeks our routine gets changed up… but that is a routine in itself at this point.

Now I won’t say I have it all figured out by any means, because I would be lying if I didn’t say this hasn’t shaken me a little bit, I have read news articles, I have heard of the deaths, seen the numbers, the closures, and the stores, it all feels kind of eerie at times… watching life shut down so quickly. Feels crazy. 

I couldn’t imagine being a person who has lost a loved one over this time, in my life I have never lost someone so close to me yet, I have never felt full blown grief before, so to think that we could face that in a time like this, feels kind of scary, the uncertainty of it all…

So what do we do with this feeling, these fears? 

One winter a few years back I was driving home in a snow storm it was dark outside, white our conditions, pretty much all I could see was the road directly in front of me, if I stopped moving I would not make it home, but moving forward was so scary because I could not see far ahead…I traveled this road many times before, but in white our conditions it doesn’t matter, the road is still scary you don’t know where your going….all you can do is DRIVE SLOW…

I feel like that is life right now, we can’t see far ahead, but we also can’t stop moving forward! 

Driving slowly, being cautious, understanding the conditions of this life are not always going to be certain, they feel pretty stormy right about now. But humanity is doing it together, and you know there are some sure things that we can grasp on to in times like this.

Our steering wheels still work, but we can choose whether or not to grab them, we choose to push on the gas peddle, and we choose the speed we still want to go. 

God is our refuge! 

We have One God who can help us get through this storm.  I have noticed that who you follow has a lot of affect on how you will handle this storm, 

One little comment of panic, really can escalate my fears,

But one re assurance of hope, light, and truth,

Reminds me of my faith.

I have tried to limit my exposure to the panic at this time just as much as I limit my exposure, to germs.

You know this also got me thinking though, we can see that this virus is clearly doing something but the scariest thing about it, is that you don’t know where it is, all you can see are it’s effects, the lives it touches.

We’re making big changes in account of this virus, out of fear for our lives or the lives of the ones we love, and humanity.

We are desperately waiting for the antidote, the cure… an ease to our worries, but what if it is already out there.  God is our antidote even though we can’t see Him doesn’t mean we can’t be saved through Him.  I tell you, stop thinking about the fact that you can’t see Him, learn a lesson from this virus, we have learned that it has effected  people, and we are willing to make changes on account of that… 

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God also has done the same, but so much more, we will read all the news articles about the corona virus, but will we read the Good news of the gospel, you can even do your research and find out that those events actually happened, you can find out that Jesus really came to this earth, you can find out that he died, but he rose again, so that those who rest assured in His truth, have nothing to fear not even death, not even a virus (now this is not saying we should not be cautious)! And if that is not enough there is story after story offering hope to Gods people, the people who make the choice, that is the key! To follow Him! 

But we the people, struggle to believe, struggle to surrender, we are so quick to hand ourselves over to “other gods” 

Other comforts in times of trouble, we have no faith…we are afraid but we will not surrender because we can be so stubborn

We might say or think things like this.

My family and friends aren’t doing it neither will I…

They always did things this way…So I’m going to follow in their footsteps, and trust what they trust do, or what they did…

I just don’t get how a God so loving can allow sickness in the world I just don’t believe in it…

Well okay, 

But you will makes changes for your life on account of a virus that you can not see, but what happens if it infects you, 

What happens if you are faced with death, I don’t want to make this a negative blog post but I want it to be real, 

We have confidence in the preserved Word of God! 

We can have confidence in His power! Especially His saving power!!

And because of that confidence we can make changes in our life,  which especially in times like this allow God into our lives to give us strength to overcome the panic and the fears….

So I’m going to give you some scriptures to read to offer hope, encouragement, and most importantly TRUTH during these troubling times, my friends God is in control, as always I pray that you would desire the truth, yes these times can be troubling, but Gods promises are so much greater than the troubles of this life.  If you don’t seek them in times of trouble I pray that you would. And I’m here if you need anything please let me know! 

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❤️ 

First things first let’s remember the words of this verse, in order to keep your mind strong, this is how you grasp on during a storm….

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” Philippians 4:8 NKJV

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Gods word, His lovingkindness, His Mercy, Grace, and the eternal Salvation that was given to us through Jesus Christ!  

It is pure, 

it is lovely,

But if you were to imagine death in the absolute worse possible way, (Jesus’s death on the cross) 

We today are sitting in our homes because of a virus that is killing people, I know we are calling our nurses and doctors hero’s because they are risking their own lives for the sake of saving the sick….

Think on a larger scale here, not to downplay their heroism by any means but let’s not forget who the real hero is here, the one who actually took on the most gruesome death for saving our souls, for giving us freedom and don’t for a second doubt that he felt every last bit of that pain, suffering, and burden for you,

We are told that he was so stressed he was actually sweating blood… 

Jesus

saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” Luke 22:42-44 NKJV

His heroism is to be glorified most of all

Because he took this on willingly, but not without pain, suffering, agony, sorrow, hunger, he felt every one of our deepest fears to the core, he understands what we’re going through right now as we face some of these fears ourselves in life,

He may have died, but he died to prove something to us, eternal life, death, is just a crossing over to a far better place, a place without fears, pain, sorrow…. 

if you are not confident in this please make every effort you can to gain that, it is attainable, but it takes Your effort! It’s not something you wish upon yourself it’s something learned through, study, prayer, faith trust, 

And obedience to the Word of God,

Please ask yourself honestly this question: 

where do I run to find comfort when things feel uneasy? 

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“But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.” Luke 21:34 NKJV

These things are DISTRACTIONS from,

Knowing Him,

And letting Him know you,

Let Him into your fears, 

Surrender your struggles turn away from any vice that replaces God, 

Because we are in some troubling times now, but they could be a lot worse,

There is still time to find hope to cling on to, 

There are still means to be saved eternally, 

It’s not a forced decision, it’s a choice. 

But if you never choose it, you never receive it… if you don’t care to know about Him, 

He will never know you.  

“Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” Matthew 7:22-27 NKJV

Don’t fall because you decided to never hear the Word of God. And you never let God hear you….

“Hear my cry, O God; Attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to You, When my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For You have been a shelter for me, A strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings. Selah”. Psalms 61:1-4 NKJV

And for one last read I won’t post it on here because it is lengthy, but the power lies in GODS WORD and in your willingness to learn and know this for yourself and act upon it>>> not just read across a verse here or there but you open it up yourself and read it for yourself, Romans chapter 8, all of my verses have come from the New King James BIBLE (NKJV)

Please reach out if you need encouragement or help durning these challenging times I would absolutely love to help if I can, but more than me reach out to God because He is so Good! 

🙏❤️

Beverly