God is Patient
However, You bore with them for many years, And admonished them by Your Spirit through Your prophets, Yet they would not give ear. Therefore You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.
Nehemiah 9:30
God was patient with Israel in the Old Testament for many years, but they didn’t listen to his prophets and never repented from their evil ways. The Israelites starting worshipping idols and sacrificing their children to them. Eventually the Lord’s patience came to an end, he stopped protecting the Israelites from their enemies and the Israelites were taken captive. The world is doing the same thing today, and God is waiting for repentance, for people to recognize and stop their evil ways and turn to God. If there is no repentance and the world continues in its evil ways, God’s patience will end and the result is judgment.
If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. (Nehemiah 9:20) This verse is telling all to repent from their wicked ways and God will heal their land. There are many who are blinded to God’s truth by Satan and his lies, and they don’t even know about repentance and forgiveness. Scripture tells us to pray for misguided souls and for the Lord to open a door so they will hear the Truth.
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) We are called according his purpose and we love the God. So, during the pandemic, how is God working it for our good? God is patient giving us this time to spend reading the Word, praying, and revealing a humble, repentant heart. Now is a good time to pray for the Lord to open a door to minister because many people are living in fear. We understand what is happening in this world from the Word and we don’t live in fear. We can do good during this pandemic by bringing the good news of Christ to lost souls. We can write letters, or papers to mail, call people, post on the Internet, or speak over the telephone.
“Millions of worried people who have turned to Google with their anxiety over COVID-19 have ended up connecting with Christian evangelist in their search results – leading to a spike in online conversions in March.” (Christianitytoday.com, 23 Apr 20) This conversion of souls was just for March, and it was all through the Internet. We can use technology to minister to the world during this pandemic, and after the pandemic is over.
Today, while in lockdown during this pandemic, live for the Lord. Study the Word, pray, and minister in any way possible. Minister to souls that you know, to someone who doesn’t know Christ, even if you don’t think they want listen. Tell them from a spiritual point of view what is happening in the world.
Prayer: Lord, guide me in the spirit to be closer to you during this pandemic and to use it for good and for your glory. Open a door for me to minister to lost souls during this time. In Jesus’ name, Amen