Concerning COVID-19 for People of Faith

Yahweh-Raphá. God first placed this name on my heart while enjoying time with Him on a missionary journey to Egypt. It was out of Egypt that Yahweh--a sacred Hebrew name for God: YHWH, or sometimes referred to as Jehovah--revealed His new name to Moses as the "Yahweh-Raphá: The LORD Who Heals." God had just rescued Israel from the hand of the Egyptian Pharaoh, and they passed safely through the Red Sea. After three days of traveling through the desert, the Hebrew People came to Marah, meaning "bitter", and had no sweet water to drink, only bitter water. After crying out to Yahweh, Moses was directed by the LORD to take a piece of wood and toss it into the water. The bitter water miraculously became sweet to drink. After much celebration, Yahweh then gave His people this promise: "If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you." (Exodus 15:26 NIV).

Two nights ago, the LORD woke me with a vision of great and terrible darkness stretching over the four corners of the earth. The darkness was choking out many men, women and children. The sight of the darkness terrified me, but then a great light began to push back the darkness. I then heard the LORD speak to my spirit: “Do NOT be afraid. I am with you. I am doing a new thing. This darkness will be for my glory and my light will shine in the darkness. Justice is mine.”

Peace instantly came over me and I began to pray Psalm 23: "The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me." (Psalm 23:1-4 ESV). I continued praying this Psalm as I slept that night. I believe I was even praying it in my dreams. There is such comfort and peace found in these verses. The LORD is our great shepherd, and I rejoice in this truth.

While I have not been concerned for my own health and life, I have to admit that the COVID-19 virus has been on my mind some lately. How could it not be? The media has drowned us all with hype and fear. I am concerned for my loved ones, such as my wife who has autoimmune disease, asthma, and anytime she gets sick, it goes straight to her lungs. I am concerned for my parents and my wife's parents who are now older in age. I'm concerned for my grandparents. It is so easy to trust God with my own life. I know where I will be if my life is demanded of me. I will be with the Father. I also know this to be true for my loved ones. I think the difficult part is, for me, thinking about living life without them. They are my support system in many ways; they are my friends and I love them dearly. My wife is the mother of my children and my very best friend. Trusting God with them is so much more difficult, it seems. The LORD is my shepherd, but He is also their shepherd.

While scrolling through Facebook yesterday, I came by a post my aunt shared. It was a simple meme, stating: "CORONA VIRUS: Psalm 91:10... No evil shall befall you, nor shall any PLAGUE come near your dwellings." I typically pass right over most memes, but I could not with this one. I instantly remembered the following moment I had with God back on July 21, 2017. I shared this moment with my sweet aunt. I hesitated sharing it on my blog, but I believe the LORD wants someone to see it and take hold of it:

"Our God is the LORD who heals. This is God’s promise if we keep His commands... While I was in Romania, we visited a nursing home. There were so many that were sick and dying, people laying in their own fluids. The smell in some places was unbearable. The sight of the people living there brought tears to my eyes. I remember there was a sickness going through the home, and we were told to be careful interacting with the elderly there. I remember so strongly the Lord telling me to not hold back and to demonstrate His love for them. I remember that God placed such a deep faith inside me, I knew that he would protect me. And so I did not hold back. I kept His command to love one another. I held their hands, hugged those who needed it and kissed the faces of many Romanian grandmas. I boast in the Lord when I say that He kept His promise that day… I remained healthy and strong."

Take some time to read Psalm 91 in its entirety. Let it minister to your spirit. I believe the LORD when He says He is doing a new thing. I believe justice is His. He has called us to love one another. He has called us to be light in the darkness; the darkness cannot overcome the light. He has called us to pay attention to His commands and to keep His decrees. As we listen carefully to the LORD our God, let us seal the door frames of our hearts with the precious blood of Jesus. His word decrees that the darkness will pass over us and He will deliver us from this disease, called sin. I believe the COVID-19 virus is more than a virus. I believe it is a spiritual war taking place in the heavenly places, manifesting itself in the physical realm. Let us pray earnestly and without ceasing. We are facing true spiritual warfare, and I am calling on those intercessors who read this to join me in the battle. Let us love one another in this time of uncertainty and fear, and let our light shine in the darkness so the whole earth might know His promises. Let us proclaim the confidence we have in our Master, that many who are lost might find salvation in the name of Jesus, because Jesus is the LORD who heals.

Here are a few pictures from that visit: