A Spiritual Connection

God is calling for us to draw near to Him, to receive His love and to gain confidence in His
faithfulness. Psalm 40 states:
(1b) I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry.
2 He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps.
3 He has put a new song in my mouth-- Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear, And will trust in the Lord.

Many are in a holding pattern these days, being forced to wait on a resolution to our current crisis, and perhaps waiting on God to do something in their lives.  In our own personal times of waiting, we can continue to trust and allow Him to show us what He wants to do in us.  This may be a time for dramatic spiritual growth, perhaps the restoration of a wounded internal area or a broken relationship. We can wait on God, hope in Him, and anticipate what He will do as we seek His face.

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Hope continues to be alive because Jesus is alive - our risen Savior continues to be at work powerfully in the world today, and if we turn our hearts toward Him, we can be filled with and fueled
by that hope. Hebrews 6 says that...
(18b) ...we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.
19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil,
20 where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

Recently, author Joel Rosenberg was on The Meeting House discussing his new action-adventure novel, The Jerusalem Assassin.  Shortly after our conversation, he was traveling back to Israel, where, upon entering the country, immediately went into a 14-day quarantine.

Joel is not only an excellent writer, but he is devoted to helping people in need through his charitable organization, The Joshua Fund. According to a press release announcing and summarizing survey results about COVID-19 and spirituality: "The Joshua Fund is a nonprofit, non-partisan educational and charitable organization created to mobilize Christians to 'bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus' by caring for the poor and needy, strengthen the Church in the Middle East and teach the importance of the Scriptures and biblical prophecy."

The Joshua Fund commissioned that survey in order to see what the connection might be between the Coronavirus and views on spiritual matters. Joel says, “The results are clear: this unprecedented global crisis is causing Americans to start reading the Bible and listen to Bible teaching and Christian sermons online, even though they usually don’t; search online for teaching on Bible prophecy and God’s future for mankind; and/or engage in more spiritual conversations with family and friends.”

The release states:

Nearly half of Americans (44%) say they believe that the coronavirus and resulting economic meltdown is a “wake-up call for us to turn back to faith in God,” and/or “signs of coming judgment..."

25% of those who regard the crisis as a "wake-up call" are "self-identified 'secular' Americans;" 42% of Jewish-Americans have adopted this view. The survey also shows: "...22% of self-identified non-Christian respondents and 40% of Christian respondents indicate the global coronavirus pandemic and economic chaos have resulted in more interest in God and spiritual matters."

The summary also relates:

“These are no ordinary times,” said Rosenberg. “Americans in near full lockdown are anxious, and understandably so. Yet millions are turning to God, the Bible and Christian sermons for answers, some of them for the first time. That may be the most important silver lining in this crisis so far.”

What’s more, nearly one-third of all Americans (29%) said they believe that this crisis indicates that “we are living in what the Bible calls the ‘last days.’”

In this time of crisis, we can be challenged to pay attention to the spiritual implications.  Certainly, as Jimmy DeYoung shared with us recently on The Meeting House, Jesus taught in the Olivet Discourse about signs of the end.  And, plagues and pestilences have been used of the Lord as instruments to carry out His judgment.  Are we in that sort of era?  I do know that the Lord can use this time to get our attention and draw us back to Himself.  I believe that it is certainly, as the survey indicates, a "wake-up call."

This survey shows that people are searching for hope.  And, even though we have seen a number of people denigrate Christianity, yet in a world in which people are trying to figure things out, our loving Savior can bring peace and clarity to a life adrift and searching for answers.  What we thought was stable a month ago has certainly become much more fluid - we need the hope that serves as an anchor for our souls.  And, we can be sure to reflect the hope of the Lord in our action and conversation.