SPRING FORTH NOW

Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.

Genesis 45:4-8 (NIV)

Recent news reports indicate there is an increase in cases of positive COVID, after two years of up and down and thinking we have turned the corner on this deadly virus, we still find ourselves behind the eight ball. Although what we believe to be evil still exists, we have learned from the experience and for that reason, it is yet frustrating that we have not been able to eradicate COVID. The lesson I believed learned from this most deadly virus is critical to our understanding and navigating life and its challenges, in particular, the challenge that Deliverance is both instant and gradually manifested in our lives. Because of the development of successful vaccinations, we have been able to overcome the enormous amount of death caused by COVID, instantaneous Deliverance, although we have not been successful in eradicating it. It is because of the vaccination that even though COVID is stubborn and does not want to go anywhere, we have lessened its impact causing death allowing us to Breathe: New Life. Yet, the struggle continues and as it goes forth, we learn more about the virus, equipping us to not only eventually conquer it but be better prepared for future viruses lessening their impact, especially its deadly impact on humanity, gradual Deliverance. I would suggest to you that the evil of COVID has helped us to use COVID, our enemy s a footstool to not only learn lessons but be better prepared. In addition, COVID has provided to our world, in various segments, a challenge to advance and better equip ourselves for the new era using this setback as an opportunity for developing and living in a better world, a world in which despite it all we are in God's hand.