No matter who you are or where you live- your life is like its never been before. Maybe you’re feeling pain because you know someone that has the virus. Maybe the pain is because you lost someone to it. Maybe you’re feeling so alone that you wouldn’t care if you got it. Maybe you’re feeling helpless because you can’t provide for your family right now. Maybe you’re running on empty because you have to entertain your kids all day. Maybe you’re simply fearful. Or maybe you just feel plain isolated from everyone that you just don’t care anymore. You feel numb to it all.
I just wanted to say my heart breaks for you all. One thing that the Lord grew in me over the world race was a gifting of empathy. Coming home I can fall into the category of feeling numb. Feeling numb to bad news. Not being phased by the immense amount of people falling to this virus. I had to open my eyes. I knew my heart could hurt so bad because of all of this that I wanted to stay numb to it. But I couldn’t. I took in the reality and for the first time felt something in my heart since being home. I felt empathy.
As a humanity we don’t want anyone to know we are hurting. We like to figure things out on our own. If you even show the smallest sign that you are not always happy, then you are depressed. It’s one thing to be positive but it’s another to push away the pain & never feel it. Which is what we’ve been taught to do since we were kids. “Pull yourself up by the bootstraps”. “Fake it til you make it”. There are endless amounts of sayings that we hear all the time that technically imply to push away how we feel because as long as we look good we are good.
Tomorrow, how ever many thousands of years ago, was the day that Jesus was brutally murderer on the cross to save us all. Dying for your sins. And still on the saddest day in history we call it “Good Friday”. We like to twist things to make us feel happy because, “oh no, we dont wanna make anyone uncomfortable or see anyone sad.” But right now people are hurting. All over the nation.
Yesterday I was reading John 15 where Jesus is preaching to His disciples before He gets crucified. Verse 13-15 He says, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” Jesus calls us His friends. How comforting is that. Then He goes on to say, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last”. Every single person living right now, in this crazy time, He chose. He knows that you’re strong enough for this. And maybe your not, but He is. He wants you to lean on Him to gain your strength because at this point that’s all we can do. HE chose us. Everyone in this generation. Even though He knew some of us would never choose Him back.
I started writing this blog because I want to encourage people in this extremely hard time. But as I write the more I realize that I just can’t do that. No one has a manual for how to get through times like this. We weren’t warned. We didn’t ever prepare for something like this to actually happen. But hold up, maybe we were warned. Jesus promises us in John 16:33 that “in this world you will have trouble.” I bet (for me at least) when we thought ‘trouble’ we never thought to the extent of what’s happening now.
In the beginning of that verse (John 16:33) Jesus says, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. [In this world you will have trouble].” He freely gives us peace. We far too often think peace is a feeling. But Jesus is the Prince of peace and if you have received Him and asked Him to be your savior, the PRINCE OF PEACE DWELLS IN YOUR HEART. He has given us HIM. He is peace. So in Him you will have peace. The ending of that verse says, “But take heart! I have overcome the world.” In a different translation it says, “But be brave! I have destroyed the power of this world.” That is beautiful. Yes right now this world sucks, you’re sad, you’re alone, you’re in pain.. but don’t fall into the trap that Satan has for you because God has destroyed the power of this world. Meaning, it has no hold on you. You are free from it. Free from pain, free from loneliness, free from SIN. Feel what you need to feel and release it back to God. Not dismissing the anguish of the world and the emptiness you may feel. We were promised that this life will be hard. If it was easy no one would need to look towards God. Like mine and lots of other testimonies people found God in very low points of their life. Because what would be the point if we never had troubles to even follow God, right? God is HERE. He is with you. And He is just that POWERFUL that He destroyed the power of the world.
And that’s what I will be putting my rest in during these uncertain times. If this wasn’t encouraging I’m sorry, I’m not one for pep talks but I can for sure sit with you in this time of heartache.
PLEASE feel free to send me your prayer request!
Song: Set me free by Lecrae
Luv, KC
