Pastor Rick Warren speaks weekly to encourage believers throughout the pandemic.
Though the COVID-19 crisis is unprecedented in our lifetime, one must have hope and strong faith. In the weekly special message from Pastor Rick Warren, he offers things you can remember, rely on, and do during this crisis to experience God's hope and fight back against fear.
"The Lord is my shepherd; I have everything that I need, and even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will not be afraid, because you are with me." (Palms 23: 1-4)
"We walk by faith not by sight." (2 Corinthians 5:7)
God promises to take us through the valley of the virus if we trust in him. Keep our eyes on God, not the circumstances around us. If you look at Christ you'll be at rest. The key to courage is faith; as faith works when life doesn't.
Pastor Rick Warren went on to share 6 truths for Christians to remember throughout the time of disaster.
1) Remember that not everything you hear is true.
2)Remember that this will pass. God says don't be surprised by it! Throughout the painful trials, people question why is there illness on this planet? Since evil and sin entered the world, nothing works perfectly. God wanted a group of people who choose to love him. It causes the world to be broken down. But in heaven, God's work is done perfectly unlike the world we are living in today.
3) Remember to focus on what is unchanging. The key to stability is to focus on what doesn't change and eternal which is the unchangeable truth. We focus not on what is seen but for what is unseen is eternal. Our life is temporary. God sees everything you are going through and God cares about everything you are going through. God has the power to answer prayer and give you strength. God is always good to you. God's plan for your life is always better than your plan. God will never stop loving me. His love is eternal. Now, this is the unchanging truth. We as humans can lose income, health, family, and my mind, but we cannot lose my salvation.
4) Remember no matter what I go through, God will go it through with me. God's presence is not a feeling. God will always be with me no matter what I go through. God is with me all the time.
5) remember this is not the end of the story. Reading the last chapter of the bible and this isn't how it ends! So you don't have to worry about that. Just like movies and t.v shows, there are more seasons. Main character does not die when there is more season left behind. In times of trouble, God is with us. We get knocked out then we get up again because we know God raised Jesus back to life. He will raise us back to life and bring us into the present. We need to focus on shifting our perspective and live in the life of eternity.
6) Remember that God wants to use you to help others. This is the time that outshines the darkness. Serve people with pain, fear, sickness, and loneliness. The Book of James gives us ideas on how to help people around you.
