Look and You will Live

The world is in the midst of a battle.  The Coronavirus/COVID-19 Pandemic has taken over the world.  It started in a small part of a country and then it spread.  People who may have contracted it did not know they were infected and then they travel and meet family and friends, and by doing so, those they met may have been infected. This silent agent brought our world to a standstill.  Countries closed their borders.  School are closed.  Stores are closed.  Churches are closed.  Public masses and services are cancelled.  This microscopic agent wreaked havoc on the world.  But it does not have the last word.

At the surface, the battle that we are in the midst of is a physical one.  People are getting sick. People are dying.  But we are simultaneously fighting a spiritual battle.  People are turning on each other.  One race discriminates against another.  People turn inward and put their own needs above others.  Selfishness rules not only the mind but also the heart.  Yes, the virus is at work, but so is the enemy.

In the midst of this pandemic, people are growing isolated and secluded.  Feelings and thoughts of loneliness and anxiety may arise.  We are tempted to turn back to old habits.  We are tempted to fall into despair.  We are tempted to believe in the lies the enemy tells us.  We must fight back.  Though places of worship may have closed their doors and services cancelled, God has not left and abandoned us.  God is ever present.  

In the desert when the Israelites were dying from being bitten by serpents, the Lord instructed Moses to mount a seraph on a pole and that all who were bitten were to look at the mounted pole will live.  And they did.  Similarly, Jesus told the people that the Son of Man will be lifted up and when He is, He will draw all things to Himself.  Jesus draws you into His heart.  Allow His peace to enter your hearts in the midst of this noisy and uncertain time.  Look to Him and you will live.  Look to the Cross and unite your sufferings, pains, frustrations, and fears to it and allow the Lord to bear it with you, and allow Him to transform all those into love, joy, and peace so that you may live in freedom.  

The enemy wants us to remain in bondage and slavery, but we were not created for that.  We are children of light and are created in the very image and likeness of God. We were made for true freedom and love.  Do not let the fleeting uncertainties and anxieties of this physical and spiritual battle cause us to lose hope and drift away from the Lord. In Him is the antidote.  In Him is health.  Through Him we have salvation.  COVID-19 and the enemy do not have the last word.  God has the last word because He Himself is the WORD and this WORD was made flesh for us and has drawn us to Himself.  Look up to Him and you will live.

Father, strengthen me and give me the courage to trust in You and to look to You in these times of uncertainty and turbulence.  Lord Jesus, You who calmed the storm on the Sea of Galilee, please calm the storm that is stirring within my heart and give me Your peace.

The Brazen Serpent by Anthony van Dyck



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