I appreciated our pastor’s recent message. Do we have faith to believe that God has heard our prayers to give our leaders wisdom? Do we still believe it whether we agree or disagree with their decisions?

I don’t know if what’s been propagated is true or false in the news. What I do know is that God is faithful and He will supply all of our needs! I stand on His word.

“I have never seen the righteous forsaken nor have I seen his seed begging for bread.” Psalm 37:25.

I understand this has been an uncomfortable time for everyone. I was placed on furlough at the beginning of all this – the bigger concern was that our team of nurses would be placed in a hospital unit to take care of the enormous number of Covid-19 cases. Thankfully that has not been the case.

When I see my colleagues fighting for the lives and for the lives of their patients, it’s challenging to hear someone complain because their life has been inconvenienced. But, my heart is heavy for those who have lost loved ones or those who are struggling for their life all alone; for those who have lost their businesses; for those who have been furloughed; and for families like ours who have been unable to celebrate a birth or mourn the death of a loved one together, or rejoice over the graduation of one who has worked incredibly hard to obtain their degree.

I do know I am thankful to be alive and healthy and that those I love are well and healthy. I do know that I work with a group of colleagues who rallied together, supported one another, and even when times were tough they didn’t get into complaining.  Instead, they did something about it. I am thankful that none of them had to be deployed but shared in a furlough.

I am here for the families who have lost loved ones to suicide; have faced depression; and other mental health illnesses during this time of isolation.

As I read an article about a 12-year-old who committed suicide which the family attributed to the pandemic, my heart broke for them. My heart also broke for the brilliant young doctor who committed suicide because of the trauma of not only caring for an enormous amount of patients who were very sick with Covid-19 but also battling the illness herself.

Today I thought to myself, what would happen if we followed the example of Nineveh?

On the day Jonah entered the city, he shouted to the crowds: “Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed!” The people of Nineveh believed God’s message, and from the greatest to the least, they declared a fast and put on burlap to show their sorrow.

When the king of Nineveh heard what Jonah was saying, he stepped down from his throne and took off his royal robes. He dressed himself in burlap and sat on a heap of ashes. Then the king and his nobles sent this decree throughout the city:

“No one, not even the animals from your herds and flocks, may eat or drink anything at all. People and animals alike must wear garments of mourning, and everyone must pray earnestly to God. They must turn from their evil ways and stop all their violence. Who can tell? Perhaps even yet God will change his mind and hold back his fierce anger from destroying us.”

10 When God saw what they had done and how they had put a stop to their evil ways, he changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened. (Jonah 3 NLT)

What if we unified in prayer and fasting for an extended time?  Could the outcome be different? Would our hearts be changed? Would we see things through different eyes? What would happen to our world? If I knew that Jesus was coming by the end of June what would I be doing different and how would I be prioritizing my time?

 

Adapted from the writing of Linda Brown originally published at Healing Words 247

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