Hey #JustWrite!! We are into a month of our COVID-19 quarantine and I pray that we are remaining safe, vigilant, and prayerful during this time. I admit this has been one of the best times for me in terms of being still, staying focused, and getting rest. I know for some it's difficult not being able to be among family and friends while engaging in normal activities. Prior to this, I found myself very frustrated with the world system in terms of education, church, government, and economics, the many institutions that have been flipped upside down. Honestly, after this passes, I don't see myself going back to the way things were. Everything that has transpired up until this point has brought a sense of thankfulness and memories of how faithful God has been in my life. I pray many take this opportunity to really think through how they want to spend their time moving forward and advancing the Kingdom. For those who believe, it's time for us to seriously come together for the common good of serving God. I've heard many say that it's all about how you respond to a situation that brings forth growth and change. That statement is very true. As humans, it is natural for us to complain about what's happening around us. Before writing this, I prayed intentional prayers as the rain and thunder were coming down outside. I distinctly prayed that we would not be complacent in where we are spiritually and that we would desire to seek God's face in spirit and in truth. Our normal way of doing things would be overshadowed by our desires to see God's hand in everything. In the midst of all that has happened in the last month, I am thankful and blessed to see many people come together during this time. Personally, I've enjoyed connecting and reconnecting with others through social media and fellowships/teachings via Zoom (virtual parties and tutoring) and Google Hangouts (Bible studies). Although I miss the physical aspect of visiting loved ones, this has been an amazing time for me in terms of thanking God for the opportunities to see family and friends in the last few years even when I was tired or dealing with my own situations. Even when things go back to 'normal', I would still like to be creative in how I spend my time with everyone. The Bible speaks to our response in coming together in so many ways with the foundation of God's love.
"Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." Galatians 6:2, ESV.
"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ..." 1 John 4:7-21, ESV.
"And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." Hebrews 10:24-25, ESV.
The following verse speaks to what's happening now: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” Jeremiah 31:31-34, ESV.
More verses on coming together are found here:
https://www.openbible.info/topics/coming_together_as_one
In closing, stay prayerful, be encouraged during this time, count your blessings, and don't forget to be creative with your writing projects. See you all in the next blog.
In His service,
Lequvia Ousley
