God Is Our Refuge And Strength!

Psalm 46:1-11

We are at war! Our families, churches, businesses, cities, nantions, indeed the whole world is under attack from a virus. COVID-19 is causing extreme devastation, economic hardships, anxiety, depression, fear,and death. In this wartime, we need two things to help us overcome: refuge and strength. Both can only be found in God (Ps.62:5-8)!

1. A refuge is a place of protection, comfort, healing, deliverance, and restoration. God wants us to consciously and intentionally make Him our refuge (Ps.91:9-11). So in this wartime, we need to draw closer to God, and put our faith and trust in Him alone. When we make God our rock, refuge and dwelling place, He will protect and deliver us from every plague, including COVID-19, and preserve us from all evil.

2. God is also our strength. He helps us in our battles by empowering us to fight the enemy. We receive His power through the presence of the Holy Spirit in us, and we shall not be moved (v.5). So this is the time to put away everything that grieves the Holy Spirit in us. When we put away hatred, bitterness, disunity, immorality, prayerlessness, apathy, etc, the church becomes God’s instrument to stop the war, and destroy the weapon of COVID-19 that the devil is using to afflict us (v.8-9), and to demonstrate His wisdom and power to the world (Eph.3:10-11).

The Holy Spirit in us arms us with weapons that are not carnal: the Word of God, prayer, the name of Jesus, the blood of Jesus, and praise, to pull down strongholds of unbelief, sicknesses, ungodliness, idolatry etc that weaken our nations. Through prayer, our devotion to God, and sharing the gospel, we put God in charge over our people and nations, and the war in which we find ourselves. God says when we put Him in charge, He will be exalted in the earth (v.10).

We pray for our governments, researchers, medical scientists, etc, that God will help them make the right decisions and find the cure for this virus. We pray that God will protect the doctors, nurses, pharmacists, first responders, and all those on the frontlines in this battle. We pray that the church will rise up in unity and power to show forth the glory of God. May the blood of Jesus protect us, heal, deliver, and empower us to victory as we make God our refuge and strength.

Shalom!