Last night our President declared he was lifting the ban on the restriction of movement. This news was received with mixed reactions. I saw some openly celebrate, having a total disregard for social distancing rules. Others lamented his decision, declaring that the nation would plunge into … I have “heard” a number of Christians utter words of fear and panic even going so far as to quote the words of comedian Clemento Suarez “by June dierr…”, meaning by June all Ghanaians would be dead. As children of God, what does the Lord expect of us? What reaction to all this is He looking for from us?
It is imperative for us to understand that as human beings, we are fundamentally faith beings, regardless of our belief in God or not. Mind you, faith can either be in the positive or negative sense. It is positive when it is grounded on the Word of God and negative when it is based on our fears. Faith works, regardless of how one chooses to look at it. If it is negative, it will work for you. How does it work? By the utterances we make which set in motion “chain reactions” in the atmosphere to bring to pass what we have declared. If you are a believer in Christ, this makes it even more serious. As a believer you have immense power and the things you say come to pass. Remember the Scripture “death and life are in the power of the tongue and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof” (Proverbs 18:21, KJV).
As believers, God does not expect us to join in with the rest of the world to speak words of despair and fear. Such words are a sign to Him of our unbelief in His ability to keep us safe and in good health. Remember the Israelites when they were journeying from Egypt through the dessert on their way to the promised land? They murmured, complained and declared they would die in the desert. They did all this without recourse to the power of God they had seen and experienced before. God in speaking to Moses about their actions and words stated “how long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs I have performed among them?” (Exodus 14:11, 12, NIV).
In times of despair, like these, hold fast to His promises and speak them over your life and the lives of your loved ones. Search the Scriptures and speak them. Fight fear for God has not given us a spirit of fear. As the Scriptures say, “for God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7, KJV). Fear is a spirit which is launched as an attack on us from the kingdom of darkness to cripple us. Therefore when it comes knocking at the door of your heart, reject it. Loudly and vehemently speak the Word of God concerning the issue (in this case what God has promised about hiding His children, keeping us safe from plagues, etc.). Do not accept it. Refuse to speak death, destruction, calamity, even if it is in a joking manner. Demons do not understand jokes and will work on your words once issued. Refuse jokes about death and other unspiritual jokes. Beloved, this is a war and we need to be wary of the things that proceed out of our mouths, for we shall have the things of which we speak.
To help you, this is a list of a few Scriptures you can start with. Mind you, this list is not exhaustive. Hence I encourage you to do your own search for others and bury yourself in them. God is well able. Be encouraged.
Psalm 46:1, Psalm 91, Psalm 121:1-8, Mark 16:17.
Author: Anne Coleman (Mrs.), anne.renner11@gmail.com
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