Last week, I was awakened from my rest around 6:30 a.m. by a text message notification; it was from my momma. When I opened the text message, I saw a link to Kierra Sheard’s jam, Something Has to Break. I love her music, but at that very moment, I was so tired after staying up until 4 a.m. the previous night that I did not bother listening to it. I simply turned over and snuggled back up with my daughter.
But, I could not find rest again. My mind had begun to work overtime. The nightly news from the previous day about COVID-19 replayed in my mind and feelings of sadness found their way to my doorstep, again.
Slipping out of bed, I went to my bathroom and turned on the hot water. There I clicked the link my momma sent me earlier and propped my phone up so that I could see it while I washed my face.
Then, I heard Kierra say she would be worshipping “quarantine style”. Slowly, peacefully, and gracefully she began to sing:
I feel it in this room,
Holy Spirit move,
Cause when you have Your way,
Something has to break,
Tear down every lie,
Set the wrong thing right,
Cause when you have Your way…
As the music played, I found myself standing before the mirror, teary-eyed, and filled with the Holy Spirit. Again, I found myself wrapped up in a song that deliberately and spiritually addressed the many breaking, turbulent, and life-shattering adversities that we are faced with in this season called 2020.
COVID-19 is one of the biggest issues that we as Christians have had to face in what seems to be centuries. This virus came like a thief in the night, stealing from and breaking us like never before. It forced us to stay in place, quarantined to our homes, and distancing ourselves from others.
So where do we go? Where is God amid the chaos? How do we receive and process what is happening to us and around us?
We go to God. He is right here in the trenches with us.
Receive and process His presence by opening your heart, mind, and ears to His voice. God is sending us a mighty and powerful message – something must break for the world to hear, reconnect, and receive Him in the name of Jesus Christ.
And, as COVID-19 rocks the world, messages are circulating on social media, in the news, and spoken from the lips of individuals that these things are a manifestation of the world coming to an end. Has the “last days” crossed your mind? It has certainly crossed mine!
Don’t Let This Season Break You.
This has been one of the most perplexing, disturbing, and heartbreaking years for many teammates, leaving many discouraged and/or feeling a sense of hopelessness. Can you answer “no” to all of these questions?
- Are you afraid of the unknown?
- Have you followed the news and the messages about international devastation?
- Have you been affected by or lost a loved one to COVID-19?
- Is your family facing financial brokenness or instability?
- Do you grieve over the behavior of our president?
- Do your children seem even further away from God?
- Have you stopped praying?
2020 has likely provoked more questions and fears than most, leaving many of us asking repeatedly, “God, what are you doing and where are you?” But…
Something Has to Break for a Hard Reset
As I process the trials and sorrows of 2020, personally and globally, I re-read what the Lord said to Jeremiah when He called him into ministry:
“See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.” Jeremiah 1:10.
This passage tells us that God sent Jeremiah to gather, tear down, annihilate, and overthrow. But, the commission to Jeremiah doesn’t stop with destruction. He also says, “I have set you this day over nations . . . to build and to plant.”
The same power with which God brought judgment against the brokenness of Israel is the power with which He promised to eventually rebuild what was broken.
He says in Jeremiah 24:6, “I will set my eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up, and not tear them down; I will plant them, and not pluck them up.”
One day, God would not tear them down, annihilate, and overthrow them anymore. He even says in Jeremiah 32:41, “I will rejoice in doing them good.”
Will God Break and Rebuild Christians and the World?
God’s Word does not expire. It doesn’t change, and it is everlasting. Today, we can apply His Word to our lives;
“It shall come to pass that as I have watched over them to pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring harm, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, declares the Lord.” Jeremiah 31:28
And, while it seems that our world is falling apart and sown seeds are not bearing fruit, have faith and know that God is very present and never turns His back on us.
The book of Jeremiah tells us that He will rebuild what has been destroyed and replenish what has withered, broken, or torn away.
In these times, it is essential that we remember that God has proven Himself to be righteous, powerful, and just over and over again. This time is no exception.
Ask, Ask, and Ask Again.
We are at His mercy.
We are quarantined.
How are you processing adversity in this season?
Let’s look at this circumstance as a blessing and NOT a curse, how? We have been blessed with solitude to give us more time with God. In this time, we are forced to slow down, shift our spiritual view, do an inventory on our personal and spiritual lives, and most importantly reconnect with our Father God.
But how do we ask God to rebuild and repair the damages that are circulating within and around us?
10 Ways to Ask God for Guidance During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Let us pray. Ask God to:
- Draw near to those devastated by COVID-19.
- Restore what has broken down in our families, and to comfort us as we grieve our lost loved ones.
- Rebuild what is broken in our nation, and heal the deeply-rooted divisions (i.e. racial, spiritual, political) that we face.
- Bring deliverance and restoration to our nation’s leaders so that they can make informed decisions that will rebuild and heal our economy.
- Fortify us for the trials and tribulations that are ahead.
- Help you cleanse and break away from all things that entangle you to act sinfully.
- Unite, bring peace, and healing to damaged relationships.
- Give knowledge, discernment, and fortitude to be doers of the work He has called us to do.
- Rebuild what is still broken in you. Teach us, Lord, how to appreciate the good and bad things in life and how to have peace even when we are faced with adversities.
- Lastly, ask God to make you a willing, intentional fisher of souls, sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ during these uncertain times.
SO, WHAT’S THE PLAY CALL?
Remember that through these hard times, our goals are to 1) draw closer to God, 2) stand together in unity, and 3) to fast and pray on behalf of our nation, asking God to heal our land, strengthen His people and give those in authority wisdom, guidance, and divine strategies concerning COVID-19 and all adversities.
In this season, know that something has to break – we MUST be still, allow God to have His way. Trust that He will repair us and our nation.
