Luke 21:11 “And great earthquakes shall be in divers’ places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.”
A pestilence is a “contagious or infectious epidemic disease that is virulent and devastating” – Merriam-Webster.com.
Well, more is coming. Everything God does is so that His Word is fulfilled. He will change the situation before he will change His word. COVID-19 is a pestilence that we were all surprised by, but we shouldn’t have been. God warned us of this in the New Testament, and this is just the beginning. Before God would bring destruction to a city or on the entire earth in the Old Testament, He would always warn His people and save the righteous prior to His actions.
Before God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, He spoke with Abraham extensively about His plans and the reasons for the destruction. He also spoke with Noah and gave him specific instructions (while the unrighteous carried on their daily lives) before He destroyed the earth. God will speak to His elect before He does anything, and He has spoken on our disobedience in this time.
Jesus will appear as Suddenly as COVID ~Terri
Jeremiah 23:20 “The anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly.”
I often hear people say, “God is notangry!” But then I think, “Well, He’s not very pleased either!” Growing up, I would hear people say that God speaks in the thunder and lightning. I experienced this firsthand years ago during a very heavy thunderstorm…it was about 2:00 a.m. when I heard the loudest rumbling from a storm than I had ever heard in life. It sounded “alive” …not like any other storm. I got out of the bed and stood in the middle of the room, and every time the lightning struck, I heard God say, “I’m Angry!!!” During the rumble of the thunder I could hear him talking about why He was angry, but it wasn’t clear. All I could think of was us – as people. He just kept throwing thunder around and saying, “I’m Angry!!!!!”
My daughter was a teenager then and she came into my room wide eyed in wonder as we both listened. I asked her, “Do you hear that?!!!” She said ‘yes’, but I don’t think she heard exactly what I was hearing.
That was years ago but I have pondered that in my heart. People have a hard time believing that God is angry because He is love. When we get angry, we sin; we cut people off and plan vengeance. So how can He love us and be angry at the same time? God is angry about our unrighteousness, our disobedience – our being consumed with everything except Him. But He loves us enough to change our perspective.
what consumes you?
God removes the things that block our view of Him. Even things we think we’re doing FOR Him can end up being done instead of Him. COVID humbled the world by bringing all of us to our knees (on the same level – regardless of financial or social status). Whatever we were consumed with before COVID is now blurry because we are focused on a common enemy. God wants us consumed with Him and nothing else; and He has removed things that have been in the way. Since COVID removed our ability to attend church, many have developed a closer personal relationship by communing with Him one-on-one, studying His word and praying without the crutch of the church. We will be judged on our relationship with Him – not groups.
Through COVID, He’s addressing our consumption with money showing that overnight, it can be taken; He’s showing that if we are consumed with other people, they will steal God’s worship and leave you out of balance (…and God will have to put space between you); He removed our ability to move freely by keeping us still so we can see our selves, face the things we’re running from, and listen to what He’s saying.
Philippians 4:12 “I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound; every where and in all things, I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.”
I’ve had plenty and I’ve had lack. I’ve lived posh and I’ve been homeless. At each level, God was the same God. Everything God allows is to teach us, love us and humble us. Our perspective of Him is everything. I have known people with extreme low self-worth and also people who are full of pride, but what it all boils down to is our perspective of God and knowing His perspective of Us. Although God is angry at our disobedience, He loves us as His children; and when we understand His love for us, it changes our perspective of Him. While we’re on this earth, our lives will continue to evolve, and we shall yield and humble ourselves to His pressure – or we’ll be crushed. We shall know that God is our creator and everything He allows in our lives should bring us closer to Him. We shall know that the only way up to Christ is down in humility. We shall know that He is soon to return, and He is changing our perspective.
