Ephesians 3:14-21 - For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of His glory He may grant you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
How is your life going in this lingering COVID-19 reality? It's our prayer that the toll of this virus, as severe as it has been for so many, finds you and your loved ones in a better place these days. Millions around the world have received their vaccines, and slowly, strangely, the world is returning little by little to something like "normal."
In the last eighteen months, many of us have become something like "lay-specialists" in COVID-19. We certainly weren't looking for this education, but when the first cases began to make the news a year and a half ago—and it looked like they were spreading fast—we were compelled to understand what we could.
We've all seen the global charts, viewed the stats and timelines, and by now are probably a bit numb to the enormity of it all. We've also seen how these viruses come and go. A quick glance at world history and you'll note that pandemics are an old scourge—and one that will likely persist in the centuries ahead. While that's not a happy prospect, neither should it come as a surprise.
What does come as good news in the middle of all this is knowing we have a God who is here for us, in all our circumstances. How good it is to know that He strengthens us with power through His Spirit in our inner being—where age, misfortune, and pandemic cannot touch us. In all life's twists and turns, God is with us.
How do we know this? We know this because in Jesus Christ "the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people" (Titus 2:11). We know this because "there is one God, and there is one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time" (1 Timothy 2:5-6). We know this because "He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?" (Romans 8:32).
We know this because God has told us so.
THE PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank You that no matter what life throws our way we know that You love us and have shown us this in Your Son Jesus Christ. In His Name. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Paul Schreiber.
Reflection Questions:
1. What good things have happened in your life due to COVID-19?
2. How do you sense God is working in your life because of this pandemic?
3. Have you been able to pursue anything—a new hobby, music, a DIY project, reading—that you didn't have time for pre-COVID-19?
Today's Bible Readings: Psalms 1-2, 10 Acts 16:22-40
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