There’s no doubt that we are currently living in an uncertain and disrupted season.
Up until a few weeks ago, the word pandemic was just a board game we played, or a wild concept that kept us on the edge of our seats at the movies. Yet here we are, living in the middle of a time where we don’t only hear the word hourly, but it has made a tremendous impact on the daily lives of our entire world. We can’t go back and change things that may have led us here, pretend that there aren’t hundreds of thousands of people sick with a brand new virus or alter the new rules this has placed on our societies.
There is no doubt that everyone reading this article has in some way had their life interrupted by the effects of COVID-19. In light of these undeniable facts, the question we are asking now is: How do we respond? This interruption has caused all kinds of inconvenience, high-jacked our norms, and in many cases, threatened our sense of security. How do we respond to that kind of shaking? Do we give into the fear and anxiety that so naturally want to take over? The question isn’t being asked of the general public; it is being asked of the body of Christ. What is the church’s response in a time of crisis?
As Coach puts it in this episode of his podcast, “We either have the opportunity to fear, or to fear not.”
Maybe this time of crisis is an opportunity for God’s children to shine bright with the light of His truth in the middle of the fear. Perhaps this interruption is also a divine shaking. This doesn’t mean that God created and sent the sickness, but as Romans 8:28 says, “We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
The coronavirus perfectly fits into the category of “all things.” Could we allow this to be a holy interruption? A time when instead of joining the throngs in fear, outrage and entitlement, we bow our knees in surrender. What do we hold onto when everything we thought was in our control gets tested, or taken away?
We must turn to the only source of true peace and sovereignty. This pandemic just might turn out to be a threshing floor, a place that reveals the truth of where we—the bride of Christ—really are in our trust of the Father. This applies to us individually and corporately. The threshing floor is not a place to be feared. It is a place where the Father gets to separate the purities from the impurities, and prepare us for a good and rich harvest. It is a place of alignment to His truth as we get rid of all the underlying mistrust, self-reliance and fears that get revealed through intense shaking.
This preparation is aligning us with our good Father so that we can walk forward in real faith. The harvest that lies ahead requires this purification. So, in the midst of greater chaos than most of our generation has ever seen, we the church get to be a beacon of light. We get to wholeheartedly trust the One we have professed as our only source. All shadows of control and self-sufficiency have been challenged, and He gets to demonstrate His all-sufficiency if we only let Him.
The shaking has the chance to lead us to awakening. Through it all, the Father may just be calling out to the church, “Awake!” He is providing us with time to draw near to His heart, and ask Him to speak to us. We can allow Him to go deep into places we’ve been covering with busyness. We can invite Him to purify our hearts, and cleanse us internally as much as we are sanitizing externally. True trust in Him is birthed in the place of intimately knowing we belong to Him. From that belonging, our light can begin to shine bright for the world around us to take note. They will take note. It will stand out, and people will be drawn to it.
There is no better time to shine than a time when everything appears to be shrouded in darkness. What does the light look like? Firstly, it looks like taking one step at a time with our Father, allowing Him to speak while we listen and obey. It looks like loving our families well even when the stir-craziness takes over. It glows when we generously share resources with our neighbors, or offer words of hope and encouragement at the grocery stores when everyone else is spouting despair.
The light makes time to share in community like we always would, even if it has to be done remotely. The light will look a lot like Jesus, a man who slept on a boat in the middle of a storm that was going to kill them all. We have access to that very same peace—Shalom—that Jesus did.
Pray, be thankful, present your requests to the Father and allow peace that passes all understanding to guard your heart and mind during this season of shaking (Phil. 4:6-7).
Watch or listen in as Coach chats with Mike Thornton about discerning the season we are in currently, and where it is leading. They are full of wisdom and practical steps on how to walk in alignment with the Father, while not giving in to fear. There is a contagious passion in this episode that is sure to get your heart pumping with hope and excitement for what the Father is doing in His body!
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