A Time for Introspection
A duration of global lockdown and being under siege is a season we will never forget. Basically the world is experiencing a standstill not because of a visible enemy but an invisible one.
None of us, not even the most wealthy and powerful nor the most learned among us could ever imagine that so many people and nations would literally find themselves being affected by this catastrophe that is not caused by a world war but by a destructive virus called Corona. Not sure what your views are my brothers and sisters but for now, in my mind’s eye, I can see an unwavering invisible hand like that of a most fearsome security officer, signaling the world to pause for a rather comprehensive and complex introspection of self and a period of evaluation of life itself.
I do believe that this pandemic has not only brought chaos and fear upon people but has also forced countless individuals to think about the inevitable and to whether we believe it or not, understand that we are not in control of some occurrences. It is my hope that we, the sheep of God’s pasture will invest some time to evaluate our lifestyle so that each passing day we can become much better versions of ourselves than the versions we were the day before. It would also be to our benefit to devote more time in acknowledging and appreciating the wonders and mysteries brought into existence by our great and unfathomable God whose voice alone breaks the cedars and shatters the cedars of Lebanon (Psalm 29:5).
Job, when he had faced misery on every side and the calamities he encountered brought him to his very knees, even in that horrendous shutdown season of his life, Job’s attention was pulled into compulsory introspection and so the Lord said to Job in Job 37:14, Listen to this, Job; stop and consider my wonders. Also the Lord asked Job these questions in verses 15 and 16 of the same chapter, do you know how I control the clouds and make the lightning flash? Do you know how the clouds hang poised and have you ever considered those wonders of Him who has perfect knowledge?
My friends, even if we find ourselves at ground zero during this seemingly lengthy period of great uncertainty, it is for our good and for the glory of God for us to think about the many marvelous doings of the Lord God of hosts. This same God who holds the world in the palms of His hands can rescue the perishing and care for the Coronavirus victims who are turned away from hospitals and medical facilities because the medical officials do not have the capacity and the resources to care for all the persons who are suffering from this tormenting illness.
The Lord our Saviour and Redeemer remains our faithful and our good good Father always. Like Job’s misfortunes, for more reason than one, God allows even the messy things in life to prevail for a set time but at the end, God has the final say and those who make Him Lord of their lives, whether they are still breathing or ceased from breathing, they will always be victorious. Why is this so? Paul an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ reminds us in his writings in 2nd Corinthians 5:1, for we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not make with hands, eternal in the heavens. Verse 8 provides this awesome great assurance to those who have decided to make Jesus their choice, we are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
Let’s think on the following
Could it be that some situations place us in a position where we have no choice but to evaluate our lives and the way we function? Could it be that painful situations can shift us into meaningful introspection and in so doing propel us to desist from destroying ourselves and from destroying others, but instead pursuing a new path which is aimed at building ourselves while positively transforming the lives of others? Could it be that some misfortunes and disheartening circumstances are permitted to promote us spiritually and therefore magnify even more, the One who walks with us and talks with us and not only tells us we are His own but shows us that we are His heirs and joint heirs with His son Christ Jesus?
If introspection can bring good results, let’s join in this beneficial mission. After all, while we are evaluating and mending our lives, let us be cognizant that the same God who controls the clouds and makes the lightning flash, the same God who shatters the cedars of Lebanon, this same God can control and direct our future after this pandemic is all over. Glory be to the name of the Lord our God.
Author: JaniceBrown–Roberts
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