The date is late March 2020. The Corona Virus and financial woes are upon us. The future for many is totally uncertain.
Let’s go straight to Scripture and see what God has to say so that we do not get caught up with the vast array of opinions, both secular and Christian, that are bombarding us.
The Book of Job is our template to see that God is totally in control:
- “All right, you may test him (Job),” the Lord said to Satan. “Do whatever you want with everything he possesses, but don’t harm him physically.” So Satan left the Lord’s presence. (Job 1:12 NLT)
We learn from reading further on, that Job’s possessions and children were taken from him. This was his response:
- He said, “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord!” In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God. (Job 1:21-22 NLT)
As you read on through ’round 2′, Satan was granted further permission by God:
- “All right, do with him as you please,” the Lord said to Satan. “But spare his life.” So Satan left the Lord’s presence, and he struck Job with terrible boils from head to foot. (Job 2:6-7 NLT)
After all that Job went through, he remained faithful to the Lord and the Lord blessed him:
- So the Lord blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning. For now he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 teams of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. He also gave Job seven more sons and three more daughters. Job lived 140 years after that, living to see four generations of his children and grandchildren. Then he died, an old man who had lived a long, full life. (Job 42:12-13, 16-17 NLT)
My point is that we must not concentrate on where the world’s woes are coming from. We know that they are coming from Satan. Instead, we must concentrate on what the Lord is trying to accomplish through it. Is this a day of reckoning, a last great awakening, or both?
But before we do that, I want to give some more Scriptures that testify to God’s sovereignty over the powers on earth and in the heavens:
- And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. (Romans 8:28 NLT)
- Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. (Romans 13:1 NLT)
- What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows. (Matthew 10:29-31 NLT)
It all boils down to this:
- In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:9-10 NKJV)
- The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9 NKJV)
Salvation of souls is ‘Number 1’ to the Lord. Not our comforts! Not our bank accounts! Not our possessions! Not our lifestyle! Nothing!
Our spiritual well-being far outweighs our physical well-being. Actually, there is no comparison:
- So if your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one hand or one foot than to be thrown into eternal fire with both of your hands and feet. (Matthew 18:8 NLT)
What is happening to our world may well be a day of reckoning, for every drop of innocent blood must be paid for:
- But the Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground!” (Genesis 4:10 NLT)
- “And I will require the blood of anyone who takes another person’s life.” (Genesis 9:5a NLT)
But I believe it can also be a last Spiritual Awakening before the Tribulation period. If it is, we as Christians must rise to the occasion. Everything that can be shaken is already being shaken—->our world, our nation, our government, our financial system, our churches, our jobs, our families, our stability. The Lord is shaking us to wake us up out of our slumber. Now is the time for churches to stop playing church and be the church. They must stop relying on their fancy music and eye candy programs and turn their reliance upon the Holy Spirit alone. Now is the time for everyone that calls themselves a Christian to be a Christian. We must live a life of humility. We must live a life of holiness. We must purge ourselves of all pride, jealousy, and self-reliance. We must be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.
Now is also the time not to live in fear. The Lord revealed to Paul the sufferings he would have to go through. But the Lord was with him every step of the way. The same Lord will be with us every step of the way:
- But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he (Paul) is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.” (Acts 9:15-16 NKJV)
- Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent. (Acts 18:9 NKJV)
The Lord’s promise to His Church is the same as what it was 2,000 years ago:
- And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: “Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.” And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. (Acts 4:23-24, 29-31 NKJV)
The Lord’s assurance to each one of His children is also the same as what it was 2,000 years ago:
- For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance. (1 Thessalonians 1:5 NKJV)
- And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:4-5 NKJV)
So what do we do? This is what Jesus, through Paul, tells us:
- And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. (Romans 13:11-14 NKJV)
For further reading, John Piper gets more in depth with his following booklet in PDF format:
Annointing 