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During this time, we can’t ignore the elephant in the room.

• There is a clear and present danger – COVID-19.
• Queen Esther was in a much more dangerous situation – Esther 3:8-10 (NLT) – Then Haman approached King Xerxes and said, “There is a certain race of people scattered through all the provinces of your empire who keep themselves separate from everyone else. Their laws are different from those of any other people, and they refuse to obey the laws of the king. So it is not in the king’s interest to let them live.⁹ If it please the king, issue a decree that they be destroyed, and I will give 10,000 large sacks of silver to the government administrators to be deposited in the royal treasury.” ¹⁰ The king agreed

There is something worse than the virus – fear – and that is NOT the desirable response.

• Deep rooted fear is worse than the virus itself – 2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV) – For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
• Job had the thing he’d feared come upon him – Job 3:25-26.

God has been preparing His people for just such a time as this.

• God had prepared Esther for this – Esther 4:13-14 (NLT) – Mordecai sent this reply to Esther: “Don’t think for a moment that because you’re in the palace you will escape when all other Jews are killed.¹⁴ If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?”
• We were made to go thru – Romans 5:3-5 (NKJV) – And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; ⁴ and perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

People are looking for leadership during a crisis.

• People tend to follow the crowd when in crisis mode – Matthew 7:13-14 (NLT) – Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. ¹⁴ Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
• But true believers are called to lead during a crisis – Deuteronomy 28:13 (NLT) – And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them.
• The word “crisis” originates from the Greek/Latin which means “turning point.”

It’s time for a reset – for us individually and the Church.

• 2 Corinthians 5:17 – Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
• The Lord is continuously transforming us – 2 Corinthians 3:18. We are to be in God’s continuous improvement process.

It’s a trust thing.  Are you going to trust God or will you lean on your own understanding?  The choice is yours.

* The audio corresponding to this post is under “media” on this site – dhfirstag.org – and is available on Monday