Lockdown Day 32: FAINT NOT (part 1)
Video: COVID-19: Together we will rise up by Brigitte Wickens
This song inspired me this morning, I hope it inspires you as well. 768 hours of lockdown gone and still counting. Depending on how difficult this quarantine has been for you up to this moment, you were either counting weeks, days, minutes or even seconds. Perhaps the best description in Scripture to “press on” and “to take heart” for the next four days of level five and then the uncertainty of what lies ahead, is found in Galatians 6:9 where we are encouraged to “faint not”.
“Faint not” requires stamina and spiritual toughness, two traits that come through exercise and determination. I would like to share a list of eight certain uncertainties that we will face during this COVID-19 season in one form or another, and how we can use them as capacity builders for stamina. Allow me to share four today and four tomorrow. The four of today are:
Faint not in times of SILENCE: LISTEN
Psalm 46:10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God.”
It is in the times of revelation that we need to obey and the times of silence that we need to listen. We often live within a spiritual paradox that views times of silence as times of being abandoned instead of times of intimacy. Loneliness refers to a state in which you are unhappy about being alone. Solitude, however, is an aloneness in which you find strength.
Faint not in times of WAITING: ENDURE
Psalm 37:7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him.
As with most things in life, our perceptions are mostly determined by our definitions. If we define patience as “waiting”, it is indeed a waste of time. But when patience is understood in a true Biblical context, as “the position of endurance under difficult circumstances”, it becomes the sustaining force enabling perseverance in the face of delay. The journey of faith will require this virtue in large quantities and at frequent intervals.
Faint not in times of LACK: TRUST
Psalm 31:14 But I trust in you, LORD; I say, “You are my God.”
One of the challenges in our present time is for Christians to discern between faith and trust. During this lockdown we should not only express the faith that God is sovereign, but we should also act like He is still in control of our lives, our nations, our finances, and our families. FAITH is believing in God. TRUST is believing the God we believe in.
Faint not in times of DISAPPOINTMENT: REMEMBER
Psalm 77:11 I will remember the deeds of the LORD;
No matter how many challenges we face: Remember Jesus. Call to remembrance the faithfulness of the Lord. The fact that you can read this means you still have eyes to see, a brain to comprehend, a voice to pray, and a heart to love. Psalm 77 is clearly divided into two parts; Depression and Victory, and the only action that divides the two is the action of verse 11 “But I will remember…” Make your life a life of choosing to remember. Choose to remember the goodness of a Saviour.