COVID-19: GOD'S CALLING IN QUARANTINE PART 3​

It's March 2020 and the world in on lockdown for COVID-19.
Please pray for those infected with the coronavirus, for their families, for those who have lost loved ones, for the medical staff working to save their lives, for those who cannot pay rent, for those without food, pray for those who have lost their jobs, for the world leaders and leaders of our nation that God gives them wisdom, for the children who don't have lunch because they aren't at school, for the elderly, for those stuck in a home with an abusive parent, family member, spouse, or partner, and pray for those without access to medical care. Please keep everyone safe by staying home and respecting the quarantine guidelines from  the CDC, your state, and the government. Remember to check in on your elderly neighbors, friends with anxiety, friends with financial struggles, and if you can, donate funds to a local food bank. If you have extra supplies like toilet paper, canned goods, paper towels, disinfectant supplies, etc. please share them with those around you in need. 

​COVID-19: GOD'S CALLING IN QUARANTINE PART 3

 IN PART three OF THIS THREE PART DEVOTIONAL SERIES, WE will identify practical steps, to take every day, to help us abide with God, prepare to do God's work, and align with God's calling for our lives. this time in quarantine can be spent with God and used for seeking his direction.

What exactly is God calling you to? What's His direction for your life? What is God's will for you? What exactly is He using this to prepare you for? What is He doing in you and going to use you for? 
I wish we could all get bullet pointed outlines with footnotes from God on this topic, but I cannot tell you one point on the outline of your life of what He's going to do. God has all the plans, specifics, and details laid out for your life, and He has since the beginning of time.
I do know that there is a spiritual battle being waged and Satan is always working against God's people doing God's will and sharing the gospel. I know that Satan would love to paralyze us in our fear and lead us to believe that there's no use trying right now, our plans are cancelled, our ministry is over, and all we can do is wait, watch, and worry. I know that Satan wants us to believe there's no hope. I know Satan would love for us to waste this precious time where we can have time alone with God, doing what He wants us to do, seeking His direction. And while I can't tell you what all God's exact plans are for you, God's word gives us direction and instruction, and through those things we can find wisdom and hear from God about His perfect will for our lives. The world is on lockdown, so for now, holding ministry events, showing up at Church, going to Bible study, having ministry training, leading children's church: it's all on hold. While you can't do those things today, you're time is not in vain. Here's what I can tell you to do right now with absolute certainty, because of God's clear instructions: 

Pray:

• Pray that you will not be lead away from God or dismayed, but that your eyes will be fixed on Jesus. Pray that you will not be led into temptation. Pray against the spiritual war waging around you.
  • Matthew 26:41 "Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!”
  • Colossians 4:2 "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful."
  • Luke 11:2-4 "He said to them, “When you pray, say: “‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’”
  • 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 " For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. "
• Pray for God's will to be done throughout His Church. 
  • Matthew 9:38 "So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.”
  • ​Ephesians 6:18 ​"Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere."
  • 2 Thessalonians 3:1 "As for other matters, brothers and sisters, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you."
• Pray that God's will be done through your life and ministry. Pray for God to lead you in the right directions.
  • Ephesians 1:18-23 "I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way."
  • 2 Thessalonians 1:11 "With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith."

• ​Keep praying, always
  • ​Romans 12:12 "Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying."
  • Philippians 4:6 ​"Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done."
  • 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus."
  • James 5:13 "Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise."

ask God for wisdom

• Seek God's wisdom. Ask God for wisdom. Ask God to help you see through His eyes. 
  • Proverbs 3:7 "​Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil."
  • James 1:5 "If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking."
  • Proverbs 4:7 "Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do! And whatever else you do, develop good judgment."
• Focus on God's wisdom and His wise words and meditate on them.
  • Proverbs 2:2 "​Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding."
  • Proverbs 4:5 "Get wisdom; develop good judgment. Don’t forget my words or turn away from them."

Study the Bible

God's Word is living, active, and powerful. [In Ephesians 6:10-18, Paul tells us to put on the full armor of God and says that the sword is God's Word] The Bible has the power to change hearts and give us godly wisdom and direction.

• Spend time studying God's Word. Dig deep into God's holy scriptures and pray for God to reveal new things to you through His words.
  • 2 Timothy 3:16-17 ​"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
  • Hebrews 4:12 "For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."
• Pray for God to guide you as you read His Word
  • Psalm 119:105 "​Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path."
• Don't just read and look, do what God's Word says
  • James 1:22-25 "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do."
  • Psalm 119:11-12 "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Praise be to you, Lord; teach me your decrees.​
• Pray for discernment 
  • Philippians 1:9-11 "​And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God."

Produce good fruit

In John 15, Jesus uses the analogy that He is the Vine, God is the Vine-dresser/Gardener, and we, the Body of Christ, are the branches. He uses this analogy to explain that unless we are abiding in Jesus and doing work for Him and through Him, we can't do His work.  Abide means "accept or act in accordance with".

• Abide with Jesus and His Word to produce good fruit in your life right now. Align your heart with God's
  • John 15:1-12 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you."
  • Matthew 12:3-35 “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him."
    
  • James 3:13-18 "Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness."
• Live by God's Holy Spirit and submit to Him
  
  • Galatians 5:13-26 "You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh[a]; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself. ”If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever[c] you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other."
    

The world right now is very scary, uncertain, and overwhelming.  While the enemy may lead you to believe that there is no hope or may try to leave you paralyzed in fear, hold tight to God's promises and rest knowing our God does not call us to live in fear but instead He gives us power and freedom through His Son Jesus.

2 Timothy 1:7 "For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline."
Galatians 5:1 "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."

Be encouraged by the hope we have secured in Jesus. Don't waste any time; not in quarantine, not amidst COVID-19, not when your calling seems over, because it's not. Pray, read your Bible, spend time with God, seek His direction for your life, abide with Him, use this time to produce good fruit. 

Philippians 1:6 "being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

day three reflections

In this short series we have briefly covered a lot of area: "we asked why do bad things happen to us?" and "How does God use our pain?" We looked at how we can use our time, in whatever circumstance, to be fruitful and seek God's will.
I encourage  you to spend more time on your own, studying the Bible, looking deeper into these topics. I encourage you not to give up. Keep working hard, don't waste the precious time you have, and do God's work. use this time to write the book, start the Bible study, call your unsaved friends and share the gospel, encourage your neighbors, work on the bible study, work on your sermon, seek God's direction, and spend time with jesus.