Our theme for this month: “Life on this side of the cross”
Our Bible verse for today: “Do not fear; for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 (CSB)
Our thought for today: “Trust God and be obedient”
Health experts in infectious disease control tell us that we have now entered the most dangerous period of the coronavirus pandemic here in the USA. The predictive models tell us that infections and deaths from the virus will soar, peak, and then begin to decline over the next 14 days.
That being the case, many people are even more fearful now than they have been up to this point. I was speaking with a doctor the other day who is in his 60s and has some health issues of his own. He admitted that he is worried about his own safety and that he is approaching this upcoming peak period with an underlying sense of fear always nipping at the edges of his thoughts. And yet, he keeps doing his duty because he feels it is his responsibility to do so.
There’s an interesting scene recorded for us in chapter nine of the book of Acts which is a New Testament example of the Old Testament promise given to us in Isaiah 41:10. There we find the man Ananias receiving a vision from God telling him to go find a man named Saul of Tarsus and pray over him and restore his sight. Ananias immediately realizes that this is the same Saul who has been leading the murderous assault against Christians everywhere, and he can’t believe God is sending him directly into the presence of this evil man who is persecuting Christians. It would be like telling a Jew in Nazi Germany to go find Hitler and pray for him.
But God explained that through the obedience of Ananias He was going to heal Saul’s blindness, and that Saul would then become an instrument of ministry to achieve God’s purposes. God told Ananias to overcome his fear and to go do what needed to be done. So Ananias went, he did what he was supposed to do, and sure enough, it turned out exactly like God said it would.
During these worst days of the pandemic the natural tendency for all of us will be to hunker down at home, shut out the world, and hopefully shut out the virus too. However, not everyone can do that. There are still shut-ins who need food and medicine delivered to them; there are still vital professions such as healthcare professionals, and law enforcement, and store clerks that need to continue doing their jobs; church leaders still need to go and record worship services; trash needs to be collected; banks need to remain open, etc. We can’t all retreat into our homes and shut out the world. Instead we need to take the best precautions we can and then go do the things that need to be done.
I encourage you to not allow fear to overcome your obedience. Do the things that others are depending on you to do. Be smart, take precautions, trust God, and do what you are supposed to do.
Oak Hill Baptist Church
Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for reading the devotional John. I hope it was helpful.