Recovered

We are held steady by the unchanging hand of God, who will sustain us in suffering and calm our
fears. Isaiah 43 provides this reminder:
1 But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.

When we feel weak or overwhelmed, we can press in to the Lord's strength.  He is drawing us to Himself and wants us to remember that He is with us and that He is near to those who believe on Him and who call upon His name.  We can be confident that He is walking with us through our trials and that tribulation is no stranger to Him - He knows us and calls us to follow Him as He leads us according to the truth of His Word and the direction and power of His Holy Spirit.

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In our hours of despair, pain, and suffering, we can turn to the Lord, who loves us and shows Himself to be absolutely faithful to those who call on His name. Psalm 37 states:
39 But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their strength in the time of trouble.
40 And the Lord shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, And save them, Because they trust in Him.

When you peruse the statistics concerning the Coronavirus, one number is very important, but it's not one that seems to be reported very much.  I came across a website called Worldometers.info that gave all the statistics that you're used to seeing - number of cases worldwide and in various countries, as well as the number of deaths.  Yes, the death count has exceeded 22,000 across the United States and over 115,000 around the world.  But, look at the "recovered" statistic, if you will, and there is an encouraging story: over 433,000 recovered worldwide and over 32,000 recovered in America.  While we mourn the deaths of those who have been lost, we can rejoice in those who have recovered.

There are wonderful stories of God's faithfulness in recovery that have been reported.  There was a play-by-play that had emerged from Northern Ireland back in March, according to the Faithwire website, which reported:

Mark McClurg, the pastor of Newtownards Elim Church, took to Twitter on March 24 to announce he had contracted COVID-19 and calling on people to pray for the healthcare staff.

He was in the ICU at the time.  He concluded the tweet by saying, "Jesus is Lord and Saviour." The article also says that "the 40-year-old pastor posted a series of video requesting that people heed the government advice and stay home. 'This coronavirus is deadly,' he said, drawing short, labored breaths. 'Coronavirus wants to kill you, it wants to take all the life out of your lungs.'"

A few days later, as the story says: "McClurg revealed that he was finally leaving the Ulster Hospital, having recovered from the disease."

“I want to thank everyone for their prayers,” he tweeted. “I want to thank the staff at the Ulster Hospital for saving my life. I looking forward to enjoying life. Overcome #Coronavirus. Be kind. Jesus is my healer.”

At the time of the article, he was hosting nightly online prayer meetings for doctors and nurses.

The Christian Post reported on a pastor from Virginia, Kenny Baldwin, who became sick with fever, chills, and aches while traveling doing ministry.   The story relates that he was hospitalized and he stated, based on an ABC13News report:

“The doctor basically said with this disease you're going to get worse fast or you're going to hold on and eventually get better, and we don't know which one it will be,” he was quoted as saying. “I was begging, God, please just give me a chance. Please get me through this.”

He said all he had was the Lord. “I saw God and experienced Him in a way like never before and He reminded me that His promises are true and that His word stands and that He never leaves or forsakes us.”

He was given hydroxychloroquine, which aided in his recovery. The Post story relates that "Baldwin said he supports the call for everyone to stay at home and prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The church is not the building, he said, 'it’s the people so we are still the church no matter what.'"

You can certainly find stories of people who have trusted God in the midst of their pain resulting from Coronavirus.  One story, out of Louisiana, focuses on a mother out of Louisiana, Shenetra McKnight, who tested positive for COVID-19 and was unable to see her baby daughter for nine days.  According to WAFB Television:

McKnight says she is thankful her case of COVID-19 was not as severe as others she has heard about.

She is sharing her message of hope to remind folks that not all cases end in tragedy and serve as an inspiration for anyone trying to overcome this evil virus.

“I would say pray, trust God. Because God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of love and a sound mind. And with that alone, that has got me through this,” said Mcknight.

These and so many other survivor stories can remind us of the faithfulness of a God who sustains us in our troubles.  We can draw close to Him and know that He walks with us in our difficulty and we can certainly pray for Him to make Himself known and to heal those who have been afflicted.

Like Shenetra, we can also place a priority on faith over fear.  Fear corrupts our minds and warps our thinking - faith can sustain us because it is rooted in the certainty of the Word of God.

While the death toll from COVID-19 is important and should not be minimized, neither should the recovery count, because in the recovery is hope.  I think of how Jesus has been described as our rescuer, and how we have just celebrated the ultimate act of rescue, as Jesus has enabled us to go from death to life.  Those of us who have been rescued know that is it the presence of Christ and realization of what He has done for us in bringing salvation that can cause us to have a hopeful outlook, based on our confidence in Him.