"It's so good to connect with you again. I hope you've had a good week, a good week in the Lord, as He has protected you and cared for you. Yes, there are challenges all around. People have been losing their lives. We've been praying for people and for families who have lost loved ones. We've been praying for people who are fighting this coronavirus.
God be with you in a special way during this 100 Days of Prayer, as we are uniting in prayer towards the Lord and His power to save. God will use you. God is using you to be able to share with others through social media, through emails, through telephone, through appropriate distancing, and waving at people, encouraging them. God will use you in a powerful way. Stay grounded in His Word, in the Spirit of Prophecy, in earnest prayer during the 100 Days of Prayer and beyond.
Let me share with you some beautiful, reassuring texts. The first one is in Isaiah chapter 35:4, the first part of that verse: “Say to those who are fearful hearted, ‘Be strong, do not fear!’” What an assuring text! What wonderful encouragement the Lord brings to us in the Word of God.
And then, in Isaiah 41:9,10: “You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest regions, and said to you, you are My servant, I have chosen you, and have not cast you away. Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
What a marvelous thing to understand that the Lord Himself will uphold us with His right hand, His righteous right hand. Oh, the righteousness of Jesus Christ, the wonderful power of what Christ can do for us through His justifying power, His sanctifying power! He is using you.
Let me share with you a very interesting passage from Testimonies for the Church, volume 1, page 355—a citation that really was peculiar to a particular difficult situation God's church was going through, and certainly counsel for all of us as we go through this corona virus, Covid-19 situation. I'll read here on page 355, and it says:
“I saw that God is purifying and proving His people. He will refine them as gold until the dross is consumed and His image is reflected in them. All have not that spirit of self-denial and that willingness to endure hardness and to suffer for the truth’s sake, which God requires. Their wills are not subdued. They have not consecrated themselves wholly to God seeking no greater pleasure than to do His will. Ministers and people lack spirituality and true godliness. Everything is to be shaken that can be shaken. God's people will be brought into most trying positions and all must be settled, rooted and grounded in the truth or their steps will surely slide. If God comforts and nourishes the soul with His inspiring presence, they can endure, though the way may be dark and thorny, for the darkness will soon pass away and the true light shine forever.”
Many of you are going through a very difficult time. God will help you make it through.
I'd like to refer you to healthministries.com/coronavirus, healthministries.com/coronavirus. You can receive good information about staying healthy, about looking to the Lord and realizing that good health—spiritual and physical—is most important.
God will use you as an anchor of stability and a pillar of hope. Jesus is coming soon. Stay close to Him as you witness to others of His abiding presence in your life, for the darkness will disappear and the light of God will shine upon us. Let me pray with you.
Father in heaven, thank you for being with us in all the challenges that we face. Thank you that the darkness will pass and the light will come. Thank you for the promise of your soon return. We look forward to that and in the interim, Lord, in this period of time, just before Christ’s coming, help us to be powerful witnesses for You, proclaiming the Three Angels' Messages, pointing people to the righteousness of Christ. In Jesus' name we ask it, amen."
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