April 4, 2020
I often wake up with a song in my head. Usually, it’s a hymn, or something on my Ashley playlist, The last week or so, it’s a song that I haven’t heard in years, not a typical song of comfort.
I felt God’s impulse to share this song…but didn’t (Obviously, I’m posting today, so being obedient! God is often persistent with me!!)
I think my resistance came from the many posts I’ve read that these are the end times, and the prophecies of Revelation are coming true. God has not revealed that to me, but I think among Christians, there is a tendency to rush to this conclusion. When really, this should be our mindset every day. It shouldn’t take a pandemic to cause us to panic. God is always waiting on us to come to Him, always wanting to hear from you…from me. I want to always, always be ready to meet my Savior…whether in death, or His second coming. I want to always, always be ready to share the promises of God, and why I have chosen Him as my Savior, and why I know that I will one day see Ashley again!
Yes, God is most definitely using this pandemic to call us back to Him, awakening us to the sin in our world, in our lives, and maybe, hopefully…using this time to awaken us to revival.
God says no man knows the day or the hour of Christ’s return. That doesn’t mean we can’t or shouldn’t be ready for His return. But there have always been events in our world that have drawn people to the conclusion that these are “the end times”. In my lifetime, 9/11 comes to mind (though that was certainly not a global situation). But I look at times of great illness and/or loss in the past – 1918 influenza, WWI and II, Black Death of 1346-1353, and even when HIV/AIDS was a new diagnosis. At the time (early/mid 80’s), I volunteered at home for infants whose Mom’s were HIV+. I remember the fear of others (even toward me!), and some telling me it was a punishment of God. There was such fear of the unknown.
Death, fear, uncertainty…they lie at our door in this season of COVID-19. But my redemption is in Christ. He alone is my hope of life…eternal life. I understand the fear and uncertainty, but due to this season of my life, it just doesn’t touch me in the same way. I know where I am going should I die today. I have complete peace and assurance that God is with me…no matter what! Philippians 1:20-21 (NKJV) says: “…according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. I have learned to trust Him, in all circumstances, in all seasons.”
So, yes, we need to be ready for death…whenever it comes. Our lives are so very short. I was reading Psalm 90 this morning, that a thousand years are as a day to God. He has a view of all eternity, and I hope that you are ready for eternity. I pray that if you are reading this, you have examined your soul, and have numbered your days, for they are short, and that you have the assurance that Christ is your Redeemer.
C.S. Lewis wrote about eternity in our hearts (Ecclesiastes), that there is always a part of us that is called to the eternal, recognising that this life is temporary; it’s not our home, this world is not my home. In Mere Christianity, he says this: “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” Yes, my heart feels that, and longs for the eternal. I longed for the eternal before Ashley’s death, but even ore since her absence. Whatever this pandemic portends, I pray you are ready.
I would love the opportunity to pray for you, or to share my faith with you.
On a final note, don’t ever mistake my faith as a lack of grief and struggle. Don’t ascribe to me strength that I do not have. I struggle with Ashley’s loss every day, and I suspect you will see a lot of posts (and lots of songs that minister to my heart!) from me as April 21st approaches because my pain is a constant in my life. However, my faith is also a constant. My struggle lies in the grief and aloneness. God? He is always with me…faithful…true…merciful…loving.
