Sunday, March 29, 2020

The Virus Blessing

It has dawned on this writer that in spite of the fact that this virus is a man made panic rather than a real panic (nobody publishes day by day infection rate and deaths for the flu each year which is still likely to kill more people than the current panic virus), there is a blessing inside this panic.  We have to remember, whatever the enemy does it has to be allowed by the Lord our God.  Example here:

9“Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. 10“Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
12The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.”

So, this virus panic was allowed for a reason.  There are generally two paths laid out before us:  1.  This is the real takedown in which case we should see war, famine, plague (you know, the seals of Revelation) and the anti-Christ show up.  Or there is option 2 which is we get a little more time (2024?) before scenario 1 plays out.  In either case, time is obviously short.  This brings us back to the title of this post-the virus blessing.

How is this virus a blessing?  The Church was asleep at the wheel.  This virus hoax (it is a real virus but the panic is 100% induced by an evil scheme) is at last a wake up call for all believers.  People have an amazing ability to keep their heads jammed into the sand ignoring everything around them as they go about their day to day business.  Well guess what, today there are a lot of sucking sounds as heads are ripped forcefully out of the sand to face the music, and that's a very very good thing.  Yes, in His wisdom the Lord has allowed an event to take place that goes on long enough, and is pervasive enough to get the entire world's attention.

Why is this not just good but great news?  Because the Restrainer is still at work on this earth.  Because the Lord Jesus Christ has not return unannounced (yet).  Because the anti-Christ has not been revealed yet.  In the Lord's mercy and kindness, He has gifted this world with a wake up call that is just about as effective as angels descending from the highest heavens into the clouds and blowing trumpets and He did it all before the events above took place.  When you get down on your knees to pray today, thank the Almighty our Lord for this wake up call that many in the Church desperately needed.

We do not know whether scenario 1 (this is it, crossed the line of no return) or 2 (we get a little more time) is going to play out.  What we now know is the Lord has sent us a gift in disguise as a virus.  What the enemy meant for evil, the Lord meant for good.  We have been seeing signs in the heavens for years with the most recent being the major solar eclipses over America.  Now we get this virus as another sign of the times.  It is time to wake up.  The Lord Jesus Christ is coming back and He is doing it at a time that no one except the Father knows (yes, its a secret).  Now we can say that before the Lord came back unannounced He sent a viral herald before Him to wake His people up.  Thank you Jesus for your loving kindness and tender mercies!

It is ironic that the more dangerous of the scenarios before us is actually the one where we get more time.  In scenario one where this world plunges straight into the tribulation the constant pressure acts to stimulate people to seek the Lord (times are bad, they look up).  In scenario two where we get more time, people tend to forget the Lord when business as usual is restored:

Hosea 13:4“But I have been the Lord your God
ever since you came out of Egypt.
You shall acknowledge no God but me,
no Savior except me.
5I cared for you in the wilderness,
in the land of burning heat.
6When I fed them, they were satisfied;
when they were satisfied, they became proud;
then they forgot me.
7So I will be like a lion to them,
like a leopard I will lurk by the path.
8Like a bear robbed of her cubs,
I will attack them and rip them open;
like a lion I will devour them—
a wild animal will tear them apart.

This ^^ must never happen.  If we end up getting a little more time before the satanists get their world order, then we must force ourselves to stay awake.  We do not know how many more world wide warnings we will be given before the Lord comes back and the seals of Revelation are opened.

Psalm 77:11 I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.

Remember, this virus is both a warning and a gift.  It is a warning to the entire world that the enemy and his servants want to murder and enslave every single one of us.  It is a gift because the Lord told us what is going to happen (including His unannounced return) and He gave us a global wake up call before any of it took place.  We are caught up in a spiritual war for all the marbles.  This is not some side show we are watching it is the main event.  God and the devil, heaven and hell, salvation and damnation are what weigh in the balance here.  The good news is we know how this story ends.  What we need to make sure of is how our story ends.

Phil 2:12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence--continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,

John 15:5“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. 6If 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. 7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

1 Cor 9:24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. 27No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

Either Paul is a liar here ^^ or he was mindful of the fact that he could be disqualified for the prize.  Either Jesus was a liar up there in John 15 or it is possible for people to not remain in Him and be thrown into the fire and burned.  And again, either Paul was a liar in Phil 2 or we do need to "work" out our own salvation with fear and trembling.  Paul was not a liar.  Jesus was not a liar so we need to seriously consider the ramifications of what they said and our current situation.

This is as big as it gets.  Let us end on a positive note considering the gift the Lord has given us with this virus.  This is a global wake up call.  As it has been written here in recent days, the Lord has work for us to do and that work is unique to each one of us.  Before this virus panic seized the world the Lord was impressing on this nobody the need for us to develop our talents (parable of the talents).  Now we know why.  Each of us has a gift, something special from the Lord that enables us to serve unlike anyone else.  Our gift is unique to us just like our individual circumstances and relationships are unique to us.  The Lord has a plan and we are part of that plan.  We need to meet with Him daily to get our marching orders.  He knows the plan, we need to know the plan.  He is not going to roll it all out for us in one meeting, He will give it to us as we need it (day by day).

So time to wrap up.  Be encouraged.  Fast, pray, spend more time in the Word to saturate your mind with good news rather than this worlds fake news.  The Lord is good, He has a plan.  He sent this gift in mercy and love to wake us up before we were caught asleep and unprepared.  Glory to God.  Thank You Jesus.

grace and peace