"Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness" (Isaiah 41:10).
Throughout the records of history, humanity has faced uncertain times. Wars, famines, sicknesses, even financial hardship have come and gone, beginning in Biblical days until now. In America today (at least in my lifetime) we have been relatively untouched by nationwide or worldwide tragedy, living in a blessed and highly successful country.
Until now.
Now, it seems as if our world has shifted upon its axis all within the space of a few months. All we hear, all we see, all we think is trouble, trouble, and more trouble. I have personally found myself in a panic more than once this year:
“Do I have enough food for my children?”
“Are we going to be safe going here?”
“Does my baby have a fever?”
“What’s coming next?”
A man in 1 Samuel was faced with this same fear of the unknown:
David and his men are returning from war to Ziklag, where their wives and children are, only to find the city burned and their families taken captive. The Bible says David and his men wept until they could not cry another tear. The people were so grieved that there was talk of stoning David. I Samuel 30:6 says, “And David was greatly distressed...but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.”
Faced with fear for himself and his family, the man after God’s own heart took courage in the Lord. The Bible isn’t clear on how he did this, but I believe he reminded himself of how the Lord had delivered him before. In remembering past victories, David rallied himself on to another victory.
In the same way we can rally our downtrodden spirits on to victory over fear. Folks, we have much to praise God for! In the months of quarantine and turmoil we have heard mighty testimonies of God’s power (if you’ve not yet seen Brittani Scott’s powerful “Still Moving” compilation, please watch it!).
Here are a few more real-life testimonies meant to encourage you today:
My dad has had advanced glaucoma for years. After a surgery several years ago to his right eye, his pressures have been maintained in normal range. About 2 months ago, he somehow got an infection, his pressures skyrocketed, and he lost vision in his right eye. After several rounds of antibiotics, shots to the eye, and another surgery, my dad was told he might not regain his sight in that eye. Today he had another appointment. The pressure is down to normal, and he was able to see the “E” on the Snellen eye chart! We are rejoicing and believing God for his complete sight!
Mallorie, a young lady from our church, came to me last week after service. She has been having ear pain and drainage for weeks. Due to COVID, she’s been unable to see her doctor. One night she was in such pain that she couldn’t sleep. Taking a prayer cloth anointed by our pastor, she laid it on her ear in faith. Within just a little while she was able to sleep without pain!
My great uncle has never been much of a churchgoer. For years, my family has prayed for him and invited him to church. Just this month he sat for a Bible study with my brother and told him he wants to get his life right. He and his fiancée have been faithfully coming to church for weeks now!
A dear precious lady from my church is currently in a nursing facility. She sent me a text a few weeks ago about a major hailstorm in her city. The hail was baseball-size and larger, causing much damage. Her facility was untouched, and one employee stated that it was as if the storm went around their campus. This sweet, praying sister only laughed and said, “I prayed for a hedge to circle us.” Now isn’t God good!?
My son, Clark, has had a feeding tube in his stomach for over 2 years. As a baby he never drank from a bottle, only getting his nourishment from this small “button” going directly into his tummy. Slowly, we’ve been working up to baby food, then soft foods, sips of water, etc. Since the beginning of the year, we have seen such incredible improvement that we decreased his tube feeds and finally stopped altogether. Clark has maintained and gained weight and shows wonderful signs of complete hydration. This last month we had that stinky old tube removed once and for all!! To God be all the glory!!
I don’t have the space to tell you of all that the blessed Lord has done in 2020, but know this...
"He’s still moving!"
Take courage!
