"Grace and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen."
It only seems right to begin with a blessing to you, my friendly readers. The reality is that we all need to call on the Lord for His blessing and protection as we all continue to deal with the Covid-19 threat.
As you can see above, Corona Mona, as I call her is taking the necessary precautions to protect herself from the disease. I have spent all morning gathering information regarding the necessary things we can do to protect our church community. I will be sharing this information with some of our church leaders and the parish nurse to formulate a plan going forward for our church. I hope to share the details of our plan as soon as possible.
Many of you have commented to me your dismay about the fear being generated over Covid-19. Our news media, it seems to me, is not creating a sense of calm among people. Yes, we need to take this threat seriously. But the greed being seen in people buying mass quantities of soap, towels, toilet paper, water and canned goods is shocking. It's everywhere on television and social media. In some places we've seen fist fights between people trying to get various products. Some grocery stores have put in place security guards and off duty police officers to prevent shoplifters from ripping off stores.
Yes, these times are frightening and some say conditions are going to get worse before they get better.
So, what to do? Trust, trust, trust in the Lord!
Psalm 46:1 - God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
Isaiah 41:10 - So do not fear, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
These two verses alone give us much to calm our fears and build up our hope.
God says, "I am with you." As we deal with Covid-19 threat, God is along side, giving us His compassion and help. He is a "well proved help in troubles."
God says, "I am your strength." The Scriptures remind us that when we feel weak, God will be our strength. Come what may, we can trust the Lord to give us the strength to deal with this virus.
The writer of Proverb 18:10 reminds us, "The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe."
During this time of uncertainty, call on the name of the Lord. We are certain that God is with us and will meet our needs. Call on Him for we have His promise that He hears the prayers of the righteous. Call on Him to ask help for your fears and concerns. Call on Him to comfort and heal those suffering from illness or loss.
As many have said, the situation is fluid and circumstances may change. But we all can flee to the strong tower of the Lord - He will provide the assurance of His forgiveness and love and that He is present to see us through this and all the things that happen in our lives.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be yours, today and forever. Amen.
