Getting a Grip in this Pandemic

This day in July 2020 is our reality. It is part of the journey God has ordained for each of us.

If we are believers in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, may we live it out from our union with Christ. He lives in us, and we have the mind of Christ. Let us live with His indwelling attitude.

First posted in May 2020. But I fear we need this reminder again:

Brothers and sisters, we all need to get a grip!

Our God owes us nothing! Absolutely zip! As Americans, as His children, as ____________ (whatever you may think entitles you).

All is pure gift! Absolute grace! Amazingly unconditional love!

And He certainly doesn’t consider us Americans (because we are Americans) to be exempt from sacrifice and suffering. He doesn’t say we can call all our own shots because we are the land of the free, in contrast to the rest of the world.

So let me just share a passage of Scripture that has been one I have parked on for various reasons over the years in my journey into aging. And then I’d like to show you what has recently jumped out at me that can help us as God’s children, sons and daughters of the King, have perspective in this very distressing and unsettling time.

6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time,
 7 casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. 
8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 
9 But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. 
10 After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. 
11 To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen.

I have been struck by the highlighted phrase: “knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.”

We Americans (including American Christians) are not exempt from suffering “the same suffering” that brothers and sisters have suffered in the past and are indeed suffering right now in other places of the world.

And who is the enemy behind it all? The enemy of our souls, the devil. God says, “Resist HIM, firm in our faith,” but only after we have “humbled ourselves before God, so HE can lift us up at the proper time…casting all our anxiety on HIM, because HE cares for us!”

So friends, spend some time right here. How you and I handle any circumstance of life is really about God and you, God and me. This is nothing new for us believers . . . it’s just different!

But our God is the same yesterday, today, and forever! Amen.

Friends,

Our God is with us on every possible level … in every possible way. I would like to invite you to spend some time in God’s Word to stabilize your mind and heart in this unsettling, confusing time. May I suggest my Bible study/devotional book: The With-ness of our God: Relationship in Every Dimension, for personal or group study, available on Amazon and other online booksellers.

For a video, endorsements, synopsis, study guide and other resources: 

https://www.abranchinthevine.com/with-ness-of-our-god/ 

KIRKUS REVIEW:

A Christian devotional based upon prepositional relationships found in the Bible.

Loyd, an educator, begins this book by sharing her lifelong love of grammar—an interest that led her to look carefully at the specific grammatical constructions of the Bible and their implications for Christians. This leads to an exploration of prepositional phrases used in Scripture. This seemingly banal project turns out to be filled with insights about the relationship between God and the faithful. The author’s primary example is “with,” as in the phrase “God is with us,” and she looks at the three Greek words which could be translated as “with” and how they differ from one another. She then goes on to analyze a number of other prepositions in the same manner, focusing especially on key lines, such as, “If God is for us, who is against us?” and “You are in Christ Jesus.” Loyd designs each of her nine chapters as a one-week devotional tool. She begins by laying out a grammatical concept and focusing on a key verse, then moves on to seven days’ worth of reflections, including study and discussion questions. Her prose style is solid though certainly informal and even folksy at times. She often uses examples from her own daily life to back up her points; for instance, in one case, she related an imperfect birthday cake she baked to Jesus, “who came to earth and put up with a broken, imperfect life for my sake.” At another point, she contrasts an old, threadbare nightgown with the comfort of life with Christ. Loyd is well-read within the evangelical canon, quoting authors as diverse as early-20th-century Scottish Baptist minister Oswald Chambers and present-day Christian pastor and broadcaster Tony Evans. She also ably explains the basics of Christian theology, placing substitutionary atonement within the context of “Christ died for me.”

An ingenious and insightful approach to Scripture.