5 Ways the Lord Will Use the Pandemic to Get Your Attention

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you

because he trusts in you.

Isaiah 26:3

So many of us are feeling beaten down by all that is going on in our country these days, not only the panscamdemic craziness but also the evil attempt to divide Americans.

Yesterday, during a time of prayer and fasting, the Lord lead me to share a few precious things with you. I want to encourage you, that although we are shocked by how quickly America has spiraled out of control, the Lord is not in the least bit surprised. Not only is He not surprised but He has placed you and I here, during this time, for a particular purpose.

I have to remind myself daily, “Renee, God’s purpose cannot possibly be for you to stress out, get frustrated and then post your frustrations on Facebook.” Yes, I am guilty as charged on that one. 😉

But here is the good news! The Lord is always faithful to bring our attention back to Him when we lose focus or become distracted by the troubles of this world. So let me encourage you by sharing five ways the Lord will use this pandemic to get our attention.

God will use these difficult times to remind us of our weaknesses.

Scripture tells us that the Lord will use our weakness as a way to glorify His power through us. My Facebook confession above shows this perfectly, wouldn’t you say? I read the news or hear something that is happening and I start to fear. That fear is quickly followed by frustration, impatience, and then anger. And just like that my weaknesses surface, and there I am I with my sins floating around me for all to see and I have to make a choice. Do I continue to react from a place of fear and anger or do I admit my weaknesses so that I can call on God’s strength and wisdom were mine is lacking?

Friend, only through our willingness to rely on God’s strength, rather than our own, will He be glorified through our circumstances. This is why the Lord will use these difficult times to remind you of your weaknesses.

But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. “Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

2 Corinthians 12:9

God will use these difficult times to increase your faith.

I can remember my grandmother saying, “Do not ask the Lord for patience unless you are looking for a trial!” While I realize she was just being facetious, there is truth to this.

Situations that cause us to want to react impulsively out of emotions like fear, frustration, and anger are the perfect opportunity for us to take a deep breath and trust the Lord and His timing.

Difficult circumstances can also place us in situations where we must make decisions and take action when we would rather just wait. Both of these situations are opportunities for us to grow in our faith through trusting the Lord.

The blessing is that experiencing this increase in faith helps convince us of the Lord’s work in our lives.

These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire- may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

1 Peter 1:7

God will use these difficult times to prepare you to serve others.

The Lord allows all circumstances in our lives, whether good or bad, to become an opportunity to grow us in faith. He does this because it’s His will that we would take that faith and use it to minister to others.

We all struggle in one way or another. This world is full of troubles and one does not need to look far to find someone who is in need of comfort.

God’s grace works like this: I may find myself struggling with discouragement one day but then, after being strengthened by the Lord, I am the one who is able to encourage those around me who may need it. Trials also increase our humility in a way that teaches us to have empathy for others who may be suffering. The Lord teaches us how to comfort others by first comforting us in our own circumstances. Who is better able to empathize with someone in pain, than the one who has been through a similar experience?

Trials have a way of causing us to recognize our vulnerabilities. For example, finding ourselves suffering the consequence of a poor decision can be a reminder to us that we are still vulnerable to temptation and sin.

Likewise, trials and temptations are an opportunity for us to remember that those in authority over us will also be tempted and so they are in great need of our prayers.

God will use these difficult times to reveal the truth in our life.

Difficult circumstances will test whether we have built our lives on the truth of Christ.

Trials reveal what is true in our world and they reveal the lies we have been falling for. When we are hit by storms in life, only that which is real and true will remain standing; those truths in our lives that are built on the foundation of Christ.

Trials have a way of washing the rest away. False securities and false beliefs are simply unable to handle the force of difficult circumstances. God’s grace will allow our trials to tear down the lies we have been serving so that only His truth remains.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

James 1:2-5

Hi there! I’m Renee White!