Words familiar to many of us. Spoken by an uncle to his beautiful orphaned niece. She had been through so much! Her father and mother had died. She was raised by her uncle, Mordecai. Because of her great beauty, she was taken with many other young women to be a concubine to an extremely powerful and seemingly moody king. Esther, of all the other girls, won the king’s favor and devotion and was crowned queen. Finally, some smooth sailing! But not for long. Her uncle uncovers a plot to kill all the Jews, Esther’s people, and asks her to risk her life by petitioning the king to save them. Esther sends word that she is not so sure this is a good plan, and here is Mordecai’s response, “For if you keep silence at such a time as this, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another quarter, but you and your father’s family will perish. Who knows? Perhaps you have come to royal dignity for just such a time as this.” Esther 4:14

Although the words are different, we hear the same message from Joseph in Genesis 50:19-20. Remembering the horrible aftermath of his brothers’ betrayal: abandonment, slavery, false accusations, prison, dashed hopes, wasted years, but seeing it in hindsight, Joseph tells his brothers, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” Why, God? For such a time as this. You had a plan, and Your plan was good.

Fast forward with me thousands of years. To a dinner at Lazarus’ house. Martha served, Jesus and Lazarus and the guests ate and talked. In came Mary, and in an act of radical worship, she poured what would today be maybe $60,000 worth of perfume on Jesus feet. She gave her future and her reputation for a moment of adoring Jesus. When Judas Iscariot objected at the waste of resources, Jesus told him, “Leave her alone. It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial.” John 12:7 This was not by chance. There was a plan and a purpose that Mary’s worship accomplished.

And now, COVID-19. Is Dr. Amy Acton here for such a time as this? Was it for this time that God connected groups of ladies who have joined together in prayer day after day? God is not silent. Love is not quarantined. Will He use this pandemic to bring revival to His church and turn the hearts of many to Jesus? “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 Does this promise still hold true?

We hear the answer in our hearts. Yes. Amen. We are here for such a time as this. The things we are doing now matter. So many times we overlook the now, waiting for the “big” moments. We look at Esther and Joseph and see them saving whole people groups and don’t see how those stories apply to what we are doing in our everyday lives. Believe it-all the moments matter. The routine ones, the emotional ones, the frustrating ones, the restful ones, those in private as well as those shared with many. May we be faithful in all the time we are given.

May we have courage, like Esther, to speak even when it seems risky.

May we have steadfastness, like Joseph, to endure the suffering of the present knowing that God will use it to save many lives.

May we have adoration that goes beyond logic and fall at Jesus’ feet like Mary did. May we give everything because He is worthy.

No doubt about it, you and I are here for such a time as this.

Awesome God, we know that You weave circumstances and actions and people into a beautiful tapestry that displays Your glory. We trust Your plan and Your goodness. Thank You for writing us into Your story of redemption and love. Give us hearts that desire above all else to do Your will and to worship You. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory now and forever. Amen.

-Leah

Our whole world is different right now. We are upside down, and all that was normal seems to have vanished right before our eyes. It almost feels like we have all become characters in a science fiction novel. COVID-19 has touched us all.

This virus has had such an impact because of its contagious nature, its incubation period, and its ability to be spread through asymptomatic carriers (people who appear to be completely healthy, but are carrying the virus). 

Contagious. Let’s stop and think about that word for a minute. My own quick definition of ‘contagious’ is something that spreads from one person to another. Let’s check out Merriam-Webster to see how close I am to being correct. 🙂

Thank you, Merriam-Webster. 🙂

As you continue reading, those definitions may be helpful.

A couple of weeks ago, I was participating in an online chat with a few women who were studying the life of Abigail with me. As part of our study and discussion, we read a portion of Scripture together, and a verse jumped off the page at me. We were reading a passage that I’ve read many, many times before, but I hadn’t really noticed this verse. It’s likely that my antenna was up because of our current situation, but even more likely that the Holy Spirit was using the current situation to bring something to my attention. Check this verse out –

“But having the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, ‘I believed, therefore I spoke,’ we also believe, therefore we also speak, knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and will present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, so that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:13-15, NASB)

I hope when you just read that, you felt the excitement I felt when I read it. Grace spreading to more and more people. Contagious grace. Incredible, right? God’s grace is contagious. It is transmissible by direct or indirect contact. It was made to spread. Paul even tells us how it spreads. We believe, therefore, we speak. We have received grace, therefore, we give grace. We don’t keep God’s grace to ourselves.

So, I began to ask myself, “Where else is this concept in Scripture? Have I missed more of this?” I decided to go on a treasure hunt. I looked up this Greek word that is translated ‘spreading’ in this verse. For those of you fellow diggers, the word is ‘pleonazo’. According to the Strong’s Concordance, it means “to do, make or be more, i.e. increase (transitively or intransitively); by extension, to superabound: – abound, abundant, make to increase, have over.” I found some other incredible verses that made use of this Greek word, and I would love to share one of those verses with you.

“God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant (pleonazo). So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 5:20-21, NLT)

You see, we have all been infected with the disease of sin. All of us.There’s not a perfect, sinless person living on this planet. But what this verse is saying is that as sin increases, as people sin more and more, God’s grace becomes more and more contagious. COVID-19 has nothing on God’s grace. It spreads, and look at what it does – it gives us right standing with God which results in eternal life through Jesus.

So how does this grace spread? Through those of us who know Jesus and have experienced His grace. Look back at the passage from 2 Corinthians 4. We who believe, speak. We tell other people. We tell them directly, and we tell them indirectly by how we live. 1 Peter 4:10 tells us that we are stewards (carriers, if you will) of God’s grace. The question is how well are we stewarding God’s grace?

Right now, all of us are practicing social distancing in order to prevent the contagion of COVID-19, and that is good for us to do. However, we are not to try to prevent the contagion of God’s grace. His grace was made to be shared and spread to everyone around us. If we have been blessed beyond imagination to be the recipients of His grace, it is the very least we can do to make that grace available to others.

“Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.” (Hebrews 12:15, NLT)

This is my challenge for us as we continue on in these uncertain times. Let’s do all that we can to keep COVID-19 from spreading, but let’s also do all that we can to make sure that God’s grace IS spreading to more and more people! Let’s be quick to speak of what we believe both directly by the words we say and indirectly by the way we live. Let’s let God’s grace be contagious through us!

Father, we are humbled and grateful to be recipients of Your amazing grace. It’s only because of Your grace at work in us that we can be Your children. Thank You for sending Jesus to pay the penalty for our sin on the cross, which made Your grace available to us. I pray that the contagion of Your grace would be unstoppable right now. May it outspread COVID-19 exponentially, and may many, many hearts be turned toward You and transformed by Your grace. Help us, Lord, to be good stewards of the grace You’ve given to us. May we speak directly about Your grace with our words, and may we speak indirectly about Your grace with our actions. Use us to bring the hope of the Gospel to those around us who are hurting and anxious. Amen.

-Dana

When I was in high school, we had something called “the six inch rule.” Students were to maintain 6 inches between themselves and students of the opposite gender. I will leave it to you to guess the reason for the rule and how well it was followed… And here I am as an adult, with a new rule, the six foot rule that not only applies to members of the opposite sex, but to all people outside my immediate family! (And I thought we had it rough in high school!) Six feet is a long distance. It is much bigger than even a non-huggy person considers adequate personal space. Most of us are keeping an even bigger distance from others by just staying home.

In this time of social distancing to prevent spread of COVID-19, I am so thankful to know that there is no rule about how close we can get to God. In fact, it is my prayer that during this time of “shut down,” each of us would get closer to God than ever before.

There is so much to say about drawing near to God, abiding in Him, but that’s not the specific direction I am going with this post today. Let me encourage you to read the following verses and use them as a launching pad for your own study of how we can get close to God.

“Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” James 4:8

“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.” John 15:4

We can get close to God because He is Emmanuel, God with us. He is near. His nearness to us is intentional, undeserved, and life-changing. When I think of God being near, my thoughts immediately go to Philippians 4:5, “Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near.” The passage that surrounds that declaration that the Lord is near is full of instructions on how to best live life. Let’s read it:

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.

Let your gentleness be know to everyone. The Lord is near.

Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:4-9

This passage is so applicable to the days we are living right now! It almost seems like a step by step manual for how to live as a follower of Jesus during COVID-19.

1. Rejoice. Really? Rejoice? About what? Rejoice in the Lord. Rejoice because God is near. Rejoice that you are not walking through this alone, that you know Who is in control and Who holds you. Rejoice always. Don’t stop. When you start to complain or worry, remind yourself. Say it again like Paul did! Rejoice. Rejoice in the Lord, and look around you with thankful eyes; you will find reasons to rejoice. And if you are looking for strength, remember that “the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10
2. Be gentle. Be gentle with others and be gentle with yourself. Be so gentle that people notice it. Gentleness is a result of the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives. It doesn’t come naturally to many of us. Harshness is much more common, and letting our negative emotions rule our thoughts and behavior is often our default. Focus on gentleness. Choose it. Practice it. It is not just good for those around you, it is good for you.
3. Don’t worry. Pray. OK, this is a big one! It makes great sense, but oh, how we fall off the prayer wagon and back onto the worry wagon! Don’t worry about anything. You will start to worry, I guarantee it. Stop. Choose prayer. Pray. Pray with thanksgiving. Make your requests known to God. He cares. He hears. He’s got this.
4. Let God’s peace guard your heart and your mind. The result of the prayer is a peace that doesn’t make sense. It goes beyond what we understand and what we see, and it will protect us. It’s our defense against worry and fear. It makes the way for the joy that is our strength. It keeps us steady so we are gentle instead of harsh. Receive the peace that comes from God through your prayers. Let it sink into your soul.
5. Control your thoughts. Think about positive, encouraging things. Say good-bye to the thoughts that let the fear back in or that make you feel angry. You get to choose what thoughts get a room in your mental hotel (go back and read Dana’s post “Captive Thoughts”). This is powerful. Practice it. “For the weapons of our warfare are not merely human, but they have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every proud obstacle raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:4-5
6. Keep on keeping on. You know what to do. You are learning to do these things. Keep practicing. Don’t get discouraged and give up. Learn, receive, hear. Find a mentor to walk through life with you, encouraging you and modeling a life that loves Jesus.
7. The God of peace will be with you. Back to that peace, and back to God being near. It is true. He is with you. This is the kind of promise that you should say out loud. You should make it personal. “The God of peace is with me. The God of peace is with me. The God of peace is with me. The God of peace is with me.”

God is near. He is not keeping a social distance, not following the six foot rule or even the six inch rule. He is Emmanuel. “This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.” John 14:17 Let His presence fill you and carry you and spill out of you on to others.

Emmanuel, You are with us. Oh, how we need You. We need Your presence and Your peace, now as much or more than ever before. We hold tightly to Your promise to be near. Teach us to draw near to You, to abide in You. We declare that You are powerful and able and in control. We look for Your mighty hand to act in our lives and in our world. We trust You. Amen.

-Leah

　
In the office where I used to work, we had a collection. We had a collection of memorable stories, things that impacted us one way or another. Many, even most, of those shared memories are bloopers of sorts; laughter is the best medicine, you know. One of the “famous” events occurred during a phone conversation between one of the receptionists and a patient. Barb was requesting that the patient wait a moment. What she said was, “Please hold on to me.” As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized that what she said wasn’t quite what she meant, and she quickly put the phone call on hold. Of course, this had all been overheard by the staff working around her. In the laughter that ensued, Barb had to find a way to collect herself and return to the call. I’m not sure that the patient noticed, but that story found it’s way into our office “hall of fame.”

I thought of that story as I was pondering being held or kept by God.

When I ask God, “Please hold on to me,” it’s not because I want him to wait while I go gather information or take care of something. It’s becuase I need him to keep me steady.

In Psalm 121 (English Standard Version), the word “keep” shows up six times.

“I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber or sleep.

The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.

The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.”

Guard, preserve, hold on to, watch over-all ways of saying keep. God promises to keep me.

When I feel unsteady, I can ask Him to hold on to me, and know that He already is. Psalm 94:18 says “When I thought, ‘My foot is slipping,’ your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up.” And Jude wrote in his book, “He is able to keep you from falling and make you stand in the presence of his glory.”
The need to be held by God and kept by Him stays with us throughout our life journey as we follow Jesus. There are times God keeps us from slipping into sin, and and there are times He keeps us from rushing into things that will distract us from Him, even good things. Like a child graduating from training wheels, He steadies us when we are wobbly learners. He holds us when we cry, keeping us from despair.

I love the example of Peter, trying to walk to Jesus on water. “But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, ‘Lord, save me.’ Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’ ” (Matthew 14:30-31) Peter, remember who is keeping you. Don’t doubt/worry. Knowing that His hand is holding us, guarding us, preserving us gives us confidence to step into new territory.

Psalm 121 points out very clearly that God is keeping us when we go out, when we go in, day and night, 24-7, forevermore.

So many songs have lyrics to remind us that we are kept by God. The group We are Messengers sing, “Maybe it’s all right if I’m not all right, ’cause the One who holds the stars is holding my whole life…”

I am a kept woman. (My husband is glad to hear that being a kept woman does not mean I am quitting my job 😉 )

God,thank You for being our Keeper. We rest in the knowledge that You hold us. We give You all the things that scare us and worry us-would You keep them too? Guard our hearts from sin. Give us confidence to do what You ask us to do. Thanks that Your care is never ending; You never sleep. Remind us of Your love as we live today. In Jesus’ matchless name, Amen.

“I keep the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices!” Psalm 16:8-9

-Leah

It’s been a strange week. No matter what you think or how you feel about our current situation, there’s no denying that life isn’t normal right now and that we are all facing circumstances beyond our control. In our lifetimes, we have never experienced anything quite like this. Confined. Socially distant. Uncertain. 

My husband and I just finished reading the book of Jeremiah. If you’re not that familiar with it, it’s a pretty bleak book of the Bible. God’s people broke covenant with Him, abandoned His ways and care for them, only to chase after the gods of surrounding nations. In His great love for them, God sent prophets to warn them. Jeremiah was one of these prophets. He was called to warn the people, but God let him know early on that they weren’t going to listen. 

“So you shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you. You shall call to them, but they will not answer you.” (Jeremiah 7:27, ESV)

Over and over again, Jeremiah tried to tell the people what was coming. Over and over again, he was ignored. Worse yet, he lived through the destruction he had predicted. He watched as his beloved city came under siege by the Babylonian empire and then was completely plundered. He was there when Solomon’s temple was destroyed. He watched as his countrymen were being taken away into exile. He saw it all.

Following the book of Jeremiah in the Bible is the small book of Lamentations. It is an expression of grief recorded during the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple. Many believe that these laments were also penned by Jeremiah. It surely would seem that of all people, Jeremiah would have reason for this kind of deep sorrow.

Yet, right in the middle of Lamentations, we find some of the most precious words in all of Scripture. In order to appreciate it, let me give you a little bit of the context.

“How lonely sits the city that was full of people! How like a widow she has become, she who was great among the nations! She who was a princess among the provinces has become a slave.” (Lamentations 1:1, ESV)

“Jerusalem remembers in the days of her affliction and wandering all the precious things that were hers from days of old. When her people fell into the hand of the foe, and there was none to help her, her foes gloated over her; they mocked at her downfall.” (Lamentations 1:7, ESV)

“My eyes are spent with weeping; my stomach churns; my bile is poured out to the ground because of the destruction of the daughter of my people, because infants and babies faint in the streets of the city.” (Lamentations 2:11, ESV)

Sorrow, sadness, and desolation. Grief beyond measure and despair beyond imagination. Unthinkable, horrible devastation. What we have experienced in the last week or two can’t even begin to compare to what had happened there. Still, we can relate.

But in the very middle of these graphic descriptions of heartache, here’s is what the writer goes on to say –

“Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. I say to myself, ‘The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.’ The LORD is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.” (Lamentations 3:22-26, NIV)

Precious, precious words. A reminder of where hope is found and why it is UNSHAKABLE. Even when circumstances are beyond our control, they are not beyond God’s control. Even when we can’t be certain about anything else, we can be certain that our God is unchanging. His character remains the same. And because of His great love, we are not consumed. Inspiring words.

These words that have inspired me and given me hope so many times in my life also inspired a man named Thomas Chisholm. An insurance agent who also wrote poetry, Chisholm sent a collection of his poems to his friend, William Runyan, in 1923. Runyan worked for a hymnal publishing company. As he reviewed Chisholm’s poetry, he happened across these words (inspired by Lamentations 3:22-23) –

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God, my Father;

There is no shadow of turning with Thee.

Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;

As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be.

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,

Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above,

Join with all nature in manifold witness,

To Thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth

Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;

Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,

Blessings all mine with ten thousand beside!

Great is Thy faithfulness!

Great is Thy faithfulness!

Morning by morning, new mercies I see;

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Runyan put these beautiful words to music, and we are left with a hymn that has become a treasure to many. Do me a favor. Take a moment, and just read through the words of that hymn one more time. Slowly. Let them wash over you like they have washed over me in the last week. Ponder the truths and let them settle into your heart. As they do, may they bring you reassurance and may they replace any anxiety that is in your heart with perfect peace. 

Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow. No matter what. When everything else around us is uncertain, our strength and bright hope are sure because of God’s great faithfulness. 

Father, our hope is in You. Your faithfulness brings us peace in the midst of very uncertain times. When we can’t see what’s coming, we can trust in Your care for us and in Your unchanging character. All we have needed Your hand has provided. I pray that we would see Your new mercies morning by morning this week. Thank You for the strength and bright hope You give to us. We choose to trust You. Please deliver us from fear and give us Your peace. Amen.

-Dana