Summary: <br> What can we do to change what is happening in our world today? It seems overwhelming as the news gets worse, the impact grows and each little square of toilet paper is now being counted. And here we are, seemingly helpless to protect what we have long term. But my God tells me DO NOT FEAR.<br> Okay, I will not live in fear, but still the reality is this is scary stuff.<br> I don’t have any answers to provide to the families now infected, to those grieving losses, to the ones who were sent home from their jobs yesterday, to the Seniors who are cheated of their prom and graduation. I don’t have any answers, but I do have a scripture. A scripture written over 1500 years ago which seems way too timely for our reality today.<br> 2 Chronicles 7: 13-14<br> God gets our attention in the opening sentence when he says: “Whenever I hold back the rain or send locusts to eat up the crops or send an epidemic on my people …”<br> Has the rain been held back? Have locusts eaten the crops? Is there an epidemic? Let’s not just skim over this, let’s really look at the past few months in our world.<br> • Droughts in Australia caused wildfires to ravage their country just months ago. The rain was held back as the fires consumed homes, forests, and entire cities.<br> • Swarms of locusts have demolished crops in East Africa. Kenya is now in a state of emergency as the locusts ate the food to feed 34 million people, IN ONE DAY.<br> • And now are we in an epidemic? By definition an epidemic is a widespread occurrence of an infectious disease.<br> Ding, ding, ding that’s right, we are 3 for 3 folks.<br> Oh dang, perk up your ears ya’ll the time to listen is now. God says whenever these things happen, there’s something we can do.<br> “Whenever I hold back the rain or send locusts to eat up the crops or send an epidemic on my people. if they pray to me and repent and turn away from the evil they have been doing, then I will hear them in heaven, forgive their sins, and make their land prosperous again.”<br> It’s right here in God’s word. When this happens, and it is, we have been given instructions. What are the instructions? Pray to God and repent, turn away from the evil we have been doing.<br> What will happen if we do? God will hear our prayers, forgive our sins, and make our land prosperous again.<br> Hello ya’ll there’s our game plan!<br> Yes to the social distancing. Yes to handwashing and self-isolation. Yes to buckling down and being safe. But even more so, yes to exactly what God is telling us to do.<br> It’s easy to read this scripture and then throw it back out into the world. It’s ya’ll that need to repent. It’s your sin. Someone “big” needs to lead us in prayer. These groups need to change. This problem needs to be solved.<br> So we all sit and point fingers and nothing changes.<br> Ya’ll need Jesus.<br> Actually, I NEED JESUS. I need to pray. I need to turn away from the wrong I have been doing.<br> This is personal.<br> And it’s personal for you as well. This is no longer just news. This is knocking on your door, threatening your livelihood, impacting your family, rocking your little corner of the world too. And when it’s personal, it demands our personal response.<br> We can’t hide beneath the blanket of someone “big” praying. No, YOU PRAY.<br> We can’t wait for others to change their ways. This has invaded your territory sister, it’s time for your change too. Me and you. Let’s be willing to change.<br> Where have you been living out of alignment? Where have you been lukewarm? Where have your priorities been out of balance?<br> Now is the time to pray, ask God to search your heart, convict you of necessary changes, then strengthen you to start now.<br> Seriously.<br>
