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Devotional for April 17, 2020

Again and Again

"He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us." (2 Corinthians 1:10 NIV)


A bit of a personal note: I was born too late to remember either the Spanish Flu or the Great Depression. And yet, since the pandemic and its effects began in earnest, many news outlets starting comparing - and still continue to compare - the pandemic and its effects to both of those events. I have also had the privilege of meeting people who lived through the Great Depression, or those who were raised by people who lived through the Great Depression, and who learned valuable life lessons and skills from doing so. And one thing that seems to be proved throughout history, time and time again, is that God delivers us each time.

After the Great Depression came the Second World War. Which ended. After the Second World War came the Cold War. Which ended. We are still dealing with certain effects of the end of the Cold War, especially in the Middle East. September 11, 2001, was certainly a major one of them. But each time, God brought us safely through each catastrophic world event. He helped us learn valuable lessons from each experience, and helped us grow in our faith in Him. And He will continue to do so. He has been faithful throughout history, bringing safely through one crisis after another, because He continues to remain actively involved in the world He created. He is bringing history to a final conclusion, one where He will establish His Kingdom fully over both heaven and earth. We are living in that Kingdom even now: God rules supreme and remains supreme. He continues to be active in history, active in the world. He continues to work in each historical event to bring everything to its ultimate conclusion - one where He is ultimately the victor, and reigns as King supreme.

Talking about September 11th, it has been said that one of the major effects of that fateful day was that the churches were nearly full after it happened, because all of a sudden, people began to desire to turn to God for help. One of the effects of the pandemic has been the opposite: churches have had to close and cease in-person worship and events. Yet all is not lost. Again, God reigns supreme, and is actively at work. Someday, perhaps soon, we will be able to meet together for worship in person again. And, what we hope and pray for, is that we, and all people, will have come to depend on God for help even more than before, as a result of having our lives and world be turned upside-down as a result of the pandemic. This means that, hopefully, when churches are able to open back up again, there will be even more people coming to worship, praise, and seek help from God than before. God will ultimately be the victor - just as He has time and time again. And, again and again, He has delivered us from every catastrophe, and will continue to do so. We trust Him, because we know He ultimately has the victory.

Dear God, thank you for being faithful to us and delivering us through every catastrophe. Help us to continue to rely on you for help, and believe in your ultimate victory. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

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