Comforting Words in the Midst of Virus

You know, the only good thing about the novel Coronavirus is that it has turned everybody into germaphobes. The honest truth is that the virus is scary, but somebody really close to me said,

“If you’re meant to die from the virus, then I feel you can’t change your destiny, but God does give us the smarts to do everything we can to protect ourselves from it.“

My dear mom

I want to take this post further and share even more comforting words from the legendary C.S. Lewis in the atomic age. In the link below you will find his words quoted and then related back to the Coronavirus.

Wise Words from C.S. Lewis in 1948-Feld Thoughts

Wind and Waves

Mark 4:35-41 (NKJV)

On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.”

Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats we’re also with Him.

And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling.

But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”

Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.

But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”

And they heard exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”

A lot of us have heard this story since very young. You went to Sunday School and you heard this story or maybe you heard it from a parent or friend. This could actually be your first time hearing about it and if so, it is a story that is always told for some reason. I’ve heard this story many of times and when I read it in the Bible for myself, it’s one that I thought was awesome, but just kind of forgot about it after reading it. When I needed to hear it though, was when I saw the real beauty in it. Yes, this is a great story, but it isn’t only that. This story is a beautiful reminder that God can do anything and He can help you through the winds and waves in your own life. You know how in songs, people consider their troubles “waves”. This is what troubles truly are. They are waves. God helps you through the waves. You may be thinking now, “Why won’t He just rebuke them and make them go away like He did in the Bible?” If you are, that is a great question that I also ask myself, but here is something that I should be asking, “What would I learn?” One thing that I know is that God wants us to have faith in Him and love Him with our whole hearts. If we had no trouble that we had to work through with Him by our side, we wouldn’t need faith. Honestly, if He just made every one of my problems disappear, I wouldn’t know how to love Him with my whole heart. It’s like the concept of parents. If your parents gave you everything you wanted, then yes, you would love them, but if they passed away, would you have learned how to live life without them? No, probably not like others. You would actually be a bit angry with them for not teaching you everything you needed in life and leaving you to find stuff out on your own, figuring it out yourself. God is NOT ever going to leave you, but I use this so it can be understood, because I have a hard time explaining things sometimes. Lol.

That is how the human mind works and God knows that. He made us. This is why he doesn’t make it disappear instantly. Keep in mind though, He always answers your pleads, maybe not in the form you exactly wanted, but He does. You have to keep your eyes opened, your ears hearing, and your mouth thanking God for what He has been doing in disguise.

Winds and waves… God’s in control and He’s got this!

Why Do I Do It?

Why do I write about God? This is a question that I have tried to answer for myself, but I never felt as fulfilled with my answer as I am right now. I can’t answer in my own words, but I can use a Bible verse that perfectly describes it.

Sing to God, everyone and everything!

Get out his salvation news everyday!

Publish his glory among the godless nations,

his wonders to all races and religions.

And why? Because God is great-well worth praising!

No god or goddess comes close in honor.

All the popular gods are stuff and nonsense,

but God made the cosmos!

Splendor and majesty flow out of him, strength and joy fill his place.

1 CHRONICLES 16:23-27 (MSG)

That is why I have this strong urge to write about God. I know that I’m not a prime example of what it means to follow God, but with almost every ounce in me, I feel like telling the world about God, is my calling. Am I afraid that I have it all wrong and this isn’t my calling at all? Yes, I’m afraid of that! (I’m still learning how to get over my fears.) God says do not fear, so I might be crazy for jumping off this cliff, due to a feeling, but the way I see it though, is that wouldn’t it be even crazier to sit here quietly when it feels as if God is trying to tell me something? Not a single soul could read my blog and yet here I am, typing anyway. Why? Because I know that it’s a possibility that someone could stumble across one of my posts and it may just help them. I wish that I would’ve stumbled across something like my blog when I was trying to wiggle out of the feeling of sharing God’s word. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to, it was because I was scared that it would keep me from getting married and that it would keep me from normal life, making me run around the world. (I love traveling, so I’m not sure what sense that made.) I might still be semi scared of these things, but I’m deciding to stop worrying about it. Anything God gives me will be far better than anything that I want. God doesn’t steer us the wrong way. He knows our true desires when we don’t even know yet. God is the ONE who knows the future, not me. If He says to do something, I want to jump, not hide. I’m becoming quite disgusted at all of my hiding and fear.

God is my hiding place. (Psalm 32:7) If my hiding place moves, I want to move with it. I want to live a life where God is my comfort zone, where God’s ways are my ways, the way I go. I will be praying to do exactly these things that I’ve said. This is why I do it.

Let’s Pray!

Good morning! Last month, my church, started a new series called, “Teach Us to Pray”. It was full of amazing and encouaging messages. The video is an hour and thirty minutes long, but I highly encouage you to watch it! (You can skip the singing parts.)

It is focused on putting a much clearer perspective on praying to God as your father. I honestly didn’t realize how big of a deal this is. It can really put you in the mood for praying. It actually made me excited to pray! Perfect for if you want to know why it’s important for you to see God as your dad, you want to know more about being God’s child, or you simply weren’t able to make it to church on Sunday. If you decide to give it a listen, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

https://youtu.be/-0y7n9961X4

Mourning Turned Into Dancing

Psalm 30:11-12

You have turned my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,

To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

I ran upon this verse quite some time back. It gives me a happy feeling that makes me feel like smiling. When I first found this verse, I was feeling pretty mournful, but this verse gave me hope and I was able to see that God would help me. Everybody experiences their times of mourning or times of no hope. When I have my times, this verse gives me hope all over again. Overall, it’s a hopeful verse.

An important thing that you need to know about this verse, which can easily be skipped over is the part about the sackcloth. What is a sackcloth? A sackcloth used to be a very rough and coarse material people would use in the bible times. It was often made out of black goat’s hair, which is very rough and I would say itchy as well. Mourners, also ones showing repentance, would wear these things called a sackcloth. You can only imagine how unpleasant that would feel rubbing against you. The reason I say that this is important to know is because you can really see how much it meant when they said this. It’s no longer just a sackcloth, it also represents that God can take your burdens off of your shoulders. If you think about it that way, the verse has much more value than just what is written down. It’s not just someone saying it lightly and that is going to be going back and mourning the very next day. They are rejoicing and giving God praise for putting off their burdens.

Do Not Worry

There are so many awesome verses in the book of Matthew! Today, I wanted to share this particular passage with you. I’m going to be flat-out honest, I am a huge worrier. There are so many worrisome questions that I ask… Is this good enough? Did I say the right thing? What if…? I think you get my point. I should really just stop worrying and start trusting God more.

(The sections in bold, are parts that stood out to me)

Matthew 6:25-34

25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

You see why I love this right? These verses have such a powerful meaning and lesson behind them! I could go on to preach about not worrying, but I have this problem of my own. All I can say, is this…

We all worry, some more than others, but worry gets in the way of the joy that God is trying to bless us with. I know this, because I have felt this. When I get so overwhelmed by this parasite called worry, my happiness level drops way down and then I start feeling very anxious. When I go a day without worrying, I feel so much better.

I hope that these verses can give you a little bit of encouragement, just like it did for me. 🙂