Remembering I'm Blessed in the Midst of Corona-virus

What a week, eh?

Have you been overwhelmed by all the conflicting information and opinions being bandied about by social media, co-workers and loved ones?

Yeah, me, too.

This morning, I'm sitting here feeling a tad shell-shocked. My spirit feels battered and bruised.

I invite you to join me in a time-honored activity that is biblical and just the ticket for times like these.

Encourage yourself in the Lord.

David did.

And David was greatly distressed; ... but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God. Portions of 1 Samuel 30:5-6 KJV

One of the ways to encourage one's self is to remember all the different ways God has blessed in the past.

Weekly, I try to do just that. I normally do it on Fridays, and join the community at Friday's Fave Five, but that didn't work out for me this time. 

No matter, I can praise God for blessings anytime!

I praise God for deep spiritual friendships and mentors I can trust to discuss the Word. One of my Pastors put this week's happenings in perspective for me - Yes, this is a storm we are going through, not unlike the storm the disciples experienced when they were in a boat with Jesus asleep in the hull. They shook Him awake and asked if He even cared they were going to die.

He got up, rebuked the storm making an immediate calm, and then asked them, "Why do you have such little faith?"

God is not uncaring about what is happening to us. He has a purpose - and a plan for what happens when we get to the other side of the conflict. You see, the reason they were in the boat in the first place was to get to the other side of the lake and encounter a crazy person, otherwise known as the Gadarene Demoniac. (See Mark 5:1-3)

In my own life, in 2011, we went through floodwaters damaging our home. It was devastating and the rebuilding process was very stressful. Yet over and over God showed up in many different ways. In the end, so many things - both physical AND spiritual, were better after the flood than it was before. 

The night we vacated our home with personal possessions piled in laundry baskets as we waded across the street to higher ground, it sure didn't seem like we were on the way to something good.  But it was, and I praise Him for it!

Another great way to encourage ourselves in the Lord is to be in the Word, learning and growing in knowledge of God and His attributes and what He has promised His children.

Which brings me to announcing, I will be running a series of posts on F.E.A.R. (False Evidence Appearing Real) and scriptures you can use to combat the whispers of the enemy. 

Stay tuned!

In the meantime, here is a YouTube video of an old song that seems appropriate for the times:



(Subscribers will need to click through to my blog.)

I'm linking this post up with the community at Inspire Me Monday.