BE, cause He lives. I CAN face tomorrow.

     “Because He lives, I can face tomorrow” – so the lyrics go…   But what about today???   Fear, panic and worst case scenarios are the fodder of much of our go to media information sources.   Twenty-four hours a day, it seems like we are being “press”ed into anxiety, hysteria and a sense of helplessness and hopelessness.   Medical experts, our president, vice president and even both sides of the aisle are (to the best of human ability) working, advising, and guiding us to what’s in all our best interest.   However, maybe our way through this journey, minus the paralyzing fear, is not found in who is guiding us but in WHO is guarding us.   “But the Lord is faithful.   He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.”  2 Thessalonians 3:3 (ESV)

     The current tendency is to feel powerless.   This can change.   We, being children of a guarding God, can choose not to panic but to place our fears into our Lord’s hands.   We can even find peace by rephrasing the emphasis of “Because He lives, I can face tomorrow” to BE, cause He lives.   I CAN face tomorrow.

     Be is a verb meaning exist, breathe, endure, prevail and survive.   Most assuredly, we can BE, exist, breathe, endure, prevail and survive cause Christ defied human death and lives.   And yes, even in the midst of a pandemic, we CAN face tomorrow with faith and hope because Christ lives.

     The very core of our faith is to know and believe God carries us not just on our sunny days but also through our storms.   No matter what outcomes we are handed, the Hand of God carries all of us and never abandons any of us.   “…I will not forget you!   See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands…” Isaiah 49: 15-16 (NIV).   In God’s hands, we are cradled in inner peace on earth and eternal peace in heaven.

     How we, as Christians, personify our faith in the virus of a storm might best testify the truth and power of our preaching pulpits.   Do we, Christians, truly find peace in God’s promise to uphold and  carry us; or when the pedal hits the metal, so to speak, do we fear we are crashing?   One way or the other, our actions in the current storm will answer this questions for all the world to see – God, too!!!

     Not just for others, but for our own inner need, may we take time to find, claim and rest upon the calming peace of God’s own reassuring words.   “Be strong and courageous.   Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you.   He will not leave you or forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6 (ESV)