Time to Cheer?
Henry Omotayo
Time to Cheer? (John 16:33, Romans 5:3-4)
Message No. 0496 | Twitter @GodandUs |
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There’s perhaps no gain saying that the Coronavirus has affected, and still is, affecting most people’s lives across the globe. This past week, I watched on TV, a would-be couple, whose wedding has been put on hold because of the virus, donating and dropping off their wedding flowers to homes of the elderly and other people who needed them most. To them, a once-in-a-lifetime program has been disrupted and it might not be possible to bring together all of the people that would have attended, in the future. Also, wedding locations are very notorious for not refunding deposits if cancellations are due to, so-called, acts of God, so the couple would have lost thousands of dollars also.
In a situation like the foregoing, the answer to the question ‘Time to Cheer?’ might be very obvious: No. However, as children of God, we are not driven by what we see, feel or by events occurring around us. We are driven by the Word of God. In John 16:33, Jesus told His disciples:
These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.
It is no secret that Jesus’ Words could sometimes be counterintuitive. How is a time of tribulation an appropriate time to cheer, one may ask? It’s because it might be raining and you might have no umbrella, but the God who created rain cannot be unable to spare you from getting wet. In Isaiah 54:16 and 17, God says that He is the creator of the blacksmith who creates weapons (instruments of work) by blowing coals in fire. He is also the creator of the spoiler who destroys those instruments. Based on this background, God says that no weapon formed against us shall prosper.
The current time we are in may obviously be showing as a time of losses and great disappointment to many people, but as God’s children, Jesus says we should be cheerful because He has overcome the world. In this context, the Author of our salvation is saying that we may not see what He sees and we may not know what He knows, but we must trust Him because He has seen the end from the beginning and the circumstances that we naturally interpret as disappointing may turn out to be gain for us. Flawed by our natural abilities, we are often unable to see beyond our present conditions, but God is telling us to quit worrying, because both the present and the future are in His Hands.
Writing to the Romans in chapter 5, verses 1-4, Paul taught that we rejoice in hope of the Glory of God, and not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. We must, therefore, hold fast unto our faith and hope in the God that created the heavens and the earth, or, shall such a powerful God not have full control of all situations that we may ever find ourselves in?
In Deuteronomy 4:30-31, the Bible says:
When you are in distress, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, when you turn to the Lord your God and obey His voice (for the Lord your God is a merciful God), He will not forsake you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them.
The prevailing circumstances around us are an example of tribulation (translated as distress in the above passage). This is, of course, not the great tribulation that was predicted in the Bible. However, people are being handicapped in many ways, including the inability to gather together in our churches to worship God. Yet, in this situation, we must give glory to God because we are not being grounded by trigger-happy autocratic and ruthless regimes, but by a common enemy that we all agree to confront.
This is a time to turn to our God and obey His Voice. Our God will not forsake us. No, He will not forget His covenant with us. Our governments were caught largely unaware by this virus, but God can never be taken by surprise. When the dust settles, may this period have been a time of refreshing for us all, and may it translate to gain, far greater than we could ever have imagined. Have a Spirit-filled week and God bless you!
PLEASE ACT NOW:
If you are yet to give your life to Christ, you do not have a covenant with God and His promises do not apply to you. To come under these promises, please surrender your life to Christ today, by praying this prayer:
Lord I know that I am a sinner and I am unable to save myself. I am sorry for my sins and I pray that you please forgive me. I am aware that Your Son Jesus died for my sins and I accept Him as my Lord and savior. I surrender my life unto you from this moment. Please take control of my entire being and help me to be obedient to your Word, going forward. Thank you, Lord, for hearing me. I have prayed in Jesus’ name. Amen.
If you prayed the foregoing prayer, you have just been born again. Please find a Bible believing church in your area and ask to see the pastor. Let him or her know that you have just given your life to Christ and s/he will guide you on next steps in your journey as a child of God. The Lord bless you!
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