{"id":248,"date":"2020-03-16T21:29:54","date_gmt":"2020-03-17T01:29:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ptnews.org\/wpupdater2\/frontpage\/?p=248"},"modified":"2020-03-17T19:09:32","modified_gmt":"2020-03-17T23:09:32","slug":"a-message-to-those-in-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ptnews.org\/wpupdater2\/frontpage\/2020\/03\/16\/a-message-to-those-in-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"A Message To Those In Crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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As many of us are forced to take some time away from our busy schedules and are quarantined due to the coronavirus, we need to look at our situation from God\u2019s perspective. As our world comes to a grinding halt, what is God saying to all of the inhabitants of earth?\u00a0 The answer to this question is no secret. The Bible gives a clear answer for us in Psalm 46<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this psalm, the writer is faced with a major crisis that he describes as a time of \u201ctrouble\u201d<\/em><\/strong> (verse 1<\/a>).  The original word could be translated \u201ctight places.\u201d In other words, the world of the psalmist was closing in on him and he felt threatened, just like we do in our current situation. The psalmist speaks of a time when his world was being destroyed by massive earthquakes that caused the mountains to be cast into the sea.  This colossal geological upheaval created destructive tsunamis. All of this brought about destruction upon the earth. Furthermore, the psalmist invites us to \u201cCome, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth<\/em><\/strong>\u201d (Psalm 46:6<\/a>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first thing that God wants us to know is that He is in control.  There are no situations or events that transpire in our world that do not come from the hand of the Lord \u2013 the Creator of heaven and earth. This global crisis is not an accident.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We should not try to point the finger of blame at China or any other nation.  The bottom line is that the Lord has chosen for this virus to march across the face of the earth at this point in time for His purposes.  Long ago, King Solomon of Israel observed, \u201cGod shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work\u201d<\/em><\/strong> (Ecclesiastes 3:17<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God uses diseases and viruses for His divine purposes.  Read Deuteronomy 28:21-22, 27-28, 35<\/a>.  Our life and health are in His hands for His purposes.  Long life and good health are a gift from God.  When Jesus walked this earth almost 2,000 years ago, He demonstrated that all diseases are under His authority. Read Mark 1:30-34<\/a>.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Psalm 46<\/a>, the psalmist declared that one of the major reasons for the crisis in his time was to cause people to cease from being busy and get to know God.  Through him, God shouted out to the people, \u201cBe still, and know that I am God, I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth\u201d<\/em><\/strong> (Psalm 46:10<\/a>). This is at the heart of what God wants from all of us. He wants all of us to fix our attention upon Him.  We are to adore Him.  Worship Him.  Be in awe of Him.  One of the major compelling desires of our lives ought to be to discover the truth about God and to respond to Him in worship and service from a pure heart for His glory.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, most of the inhabitants on earth never think about God during the day.  Their thoughts are very far from Him. It is obvious that they do not know Him.  This is the major problem in our world \u2013 people do not know God.  During the days of the ancient prophet of Israel, Hosea, God spoke to the rebellious nation of Israel and said, \u201cMy people are destroyed for lack of knowledge<\/em><\/strong>\u201d (Hosea 4:6<\/a>)  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

God wants the very best for each one of us. The real peace and joy we are looking for will not be found in plenty of food, money, entertainment, or our creature comforts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

God wants you.  He created you for His purposes.  He is a jealous God. Read Exodus 20:5-6<\/a>. His goal is not to make you happy, but to glorify Him. When you walk with Him you will have what you are looking for.  There is no greater joy than to know Him and serve Him.  After all, that is what we will be doing in heaven for all of eternity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe in the next few days you can take the time to reflect upon all of this. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As many of us are forced to take some time away from our busy schedules and are quarantined due to the coronavirus, we need to look at our situation from God\u2019s perspective. As our world comes to a grinding halt, what is God saying to all of the inhabitants of earth?\u00a0 The answer to this … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “A Message To Those In Crisis”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ptnews.org\/wpupdater2\/frontpage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ptnews.org\/wpupdater2\/frontpage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ptnews.org\/wpupdater2\/frontpage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ptnews.org\/wpupdater2\/frontpage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ptnews.org\/wpupdater2\/frontpage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=248"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ptnews.org\/wpupdater2\/frontpage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ptnews.org\/wpupdater2\/frontpage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ptnews.org\/wpupdater2\/frontpage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ptnews.org\/wpupdater2\/frontpage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}