Updated March 2, 2021
How are you doing after a long season of pandemic? A lot has happened, and there is a lot to keep up with. But I want to be sure you keep “UP.”
Are you Keeping UP?
I’m wondering if you’re keeping up during COVID-19. And the emphasis is on “up.”
When it seems the whole world is determined to erode your joy, to discount your faith, and to destroy your hope, it’s hard to stay positive.
There’s something about spending lots of time at home. Your focus gets small. Your personal circumstances seem to be everything.
And just outside your windows, it doesn’t look much better.
And so I have to ask: Are you staying “UP” during this season? It’s a real question.
I’m not here with a magic bullet. I’m just checking on you. It’s been a long time, and we haven’t had our normal “socializing” at work, at school, at stores, etc..
There’s no spontaneous hug with a friend you run into at the store. If you do see someone, you have that fast little “keep back” physical reaction, our disciplinary reminder to remain in our own space.
I hate that. I absolute hate it.
😢 I’ve learned not to hug.
It will be easy to get a little “down” both in our mood and our hopes.
So I’m checking my viewpoint (and yours) to be sure we haven’t gotten into a faulty vantage point.
The news is sad, maybe even alarming, yet we feel we must stay informed.
So we don’t hide from the truth, and we don’t ignore the facts, but we are trying so hard to see the other side of this thing.
What’s the Good News about Coronavirus?
You’ve got the news, and your Facebook feed. In addition, you’ve got the phone calls and messages from people who saw or heard something you didn’t. So you’re equipped with information, diagrams, statistics, and predictions.
And we can’t stop. We watch the numbers, we talk about the situation “out there” in the risky public.
Social distancing has become a way of life, and sadly so.
Both the disease and the remedies have been highly politicized, and opinions keep us emotionally distanced from others.
Simultaneously, we are driven to division about race, economics, religion, and countless other issues.
It seems that every single life issue has become a reason to set up separate camps.
We worry about our nation, and about our families.
It feels like a runaway train.
No, it’s more:
It feels like some random thing has taken over the whole world. It can fill our hearts with fear. And it does. None of us want to be one of the casualties of this sickness. And we sure don’t want our families to suffer.
Even more, there is so much disagreement about everything that you often feel silenced, misunderstood, and accused.
In some way, every single situation and person has been exploited.
So where is any “good” news?
There is.
Alan Redpath said this:
There is nothing–no circumstance, no trouble, no testing–that can ever touch me until, first of all, it has gone past God and past Christ right through to me. If it has come that far, it has come with a great purpose, which I may not understand at the moment. But as I refuse to become panicky, as I lift up my eyes to Him and accept it as coming from the throne of God for some great purpose of blessing to my own heart, no sorrow will ever disturb me, no circumstance will cause me to fret, for I shall rest in the joy of what my Lord is–that is the rest of victory!
The good news has been here all along. It has been here since the beginning. As believers, we know it. We speak it, we call on it, and we dwell in it.
God’s Word is eternal. It is trustworthy, it is sure.
Isaiah 55:8-11 says
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
We accept the authority of our Father, His wisdom and plan.
To the lost, this is foolishness. But we know it is wisdom.
Proverbs 2:6 says,
For the Lord gives wisdom:
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
James 1:5-6 says
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God,
who gives generously to all without reproach,
and it will be given him.
But let him ask in faith, with no doubting,
for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea
that is driven and tossed by the wind.
So how am I coping?
I wish I could tell you I wake up each morning of my life without a shred of fear, without any worry, without any concern about what tomorrow holds. But my human heart does sometimes wake up this way. 🥺
It’s my signal to return to wisdom, my warning that doubting is causing me to be driven and tossed by the wind.
Remember: God is accomplishing his purposes.
He is shaping our world, our countries, our leaders, and our people. And He is shaping our hearts.
That means he is shaping my heart.
It has been with great yearning during these days that I seek out ways to pray, ways to look at Scripture, all to ask the question, “What is it that God wants me to do, exactly?”
And I have some help:
I have amazing friends and leaders who encourage me every single day. The encouragement ranges from a kind word or a text connect to a deep and lasting look into the Bible, opening up the connection between God’s people of yesterday and God’s people of today. And more importantly, opening the connection between God and me.
Are you getting that kind of encouragement? I’m going to post a list of reputable resources below, things you can sign up for (or just visit) to deepen your faith during this shaky-ground time.
And I want you to take a look at a prayer plan that has been created just for this time from the women at Revive Our Hearts. If you’re struggling about what to pray, or how to pray, this may help you to focus on spending time with the Lord, without being held back by fear or busy-ness.
And one more thing: Please share. Not because you are compelled, but because you want someone to receive the ministry of encouragement. Share the post, or a resource, or a song, or Scripture.
Here is a link to a video, a song that means so much to me. Anything I say cannot do it justice. I hope you enjoy it.
Sometimes I love to listen to Tony Evans. One subject he stresses is God’s sovereignty. Read “Here’s How God Accomplishes His Will” to see how he illustrates this.
Here is one small excerpt:
“We don’t always get to see how God weaves and twists and tweaks things to take us to our intended destination and purpose. He operates behind the scenes, pulling the strings and setting the stage in ways that sometimes confuse, frustrate, and confound us. But also in ways that produce the greatest outcome and result.”
You know this. Part of our coping has to be that we return to truth, and accept that foundation for every event, every circumstance, every unknown.
Here is the Revive Our Hearts article along with the Guide to Prayer. This is a printable seven-day guide to focused prayer during these difficult times.
Here is one small excerpt:
“Right now, we have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to prove we believe it. God works through our prayers to set His plans in motion. Imagine what can happen when thousands of women bow before the throne of heaven to ask fervently for healing in our land.”
Some amazing online resources:
These are things you can enjoy just once, or every day. Look when you want, or have them sent to your inbox.
Revive Our Hearts, “Prayer In A Time of Crisis.” This is a podcast, so you can listen, but the text of the message is also printed if you prefer to read.
Proverbs 31 Ministries, Daily Devotions. You can sign up to receive daily devotional emails if you like. Or just read them online.
Grace to You, John McArthur, Daily Devotions. Again, available by e-mail, or going to the site.
Leading The Way, a ministry of Dr. Michael Youssef. Daily devotions and more.
If you want something in your hands instead of an online resource, here are a few suggestions:
Valley of Vision, a collection of Puritan Prayers.
One Minute Inspirations for Women, by Elizabeth George.
Choosing Gratitude, by Nancy Leigh Demoss.
Loving God With All Your Mind, by Elizabeth George.
Please know that all this comes not from a place of knowledge or hierarchy, but from a place of deep gratitude.
I have experienced rescue through prayer, and I approach you as a humble and thankful person, expressing the wonder of what has been done for me by the Father, the Creator, and the Sustainer, who listens to the people he loves. Help me not to forget that.
God arranges rescues. And we are his people.
You. You’re here, reading, and that means so much to me.
If you found encouragement here, please come back for more.
If you know someone who might enjoy, feel free to share this topic — Send them a link, or post on Facebook or Pinterest.
And keep UP.
May the God of hope
fill you with all joy and peace
in believing,
so that by the power
of the Holy Spirit
you may abound
in hope.
Romans 15:13
-Grammye
P.S. If you have been here a while, you may have noticed I am going through Isaiah 55 down at the bottom of the page. Just a verse or two each week.
I have a Scripture Memory Tool you can print to assist in memorizing this rich chapter. Yes, the whole chapter, by memory!
I can also offer you a reprint of the Alan Redpath quote above. Just click this link to view it, and download or print if you would like.
