On Monday, April 20th I will be leading an online Zoom teaching session for Real Momentum entitled 3 Things God Wants To Do In A Man’s Life During COVID-19. This is an incredible organization to serve! Real Momentum offers tailored men’s ministry coaching, local church events, and strategic missions partnerships. They help churches develop an effective disciple-making process to men with others in mind.
As its founder Keith Boggs and I discussed what men needed within the time parameters provided, we settled on this topic. John Piper recently said and I am paraphrasing, “God is doing 100 things in your life. You might be aware of three of them.”
With Piper’s comments as a backdrop, the following are 3 Things God Wants To Do In A Man’s Life During COVID-19 with supporting comments:
Return To God
Dr. Tony Evans recently told FoxNews.com, “As far as prophecy goes, one of three things is happening.
1. God has allowed this to reset the culture and the world, and give us another opportunity to come back to Him.
2. We are at the end times and Christ is soon to return, and this shows how quickly God can bring us to our knees.
3. To wake up the church and show our failure as a major problem. We need to wake up to be salt and light to the world.”
My thoughts are all of the above. What COVID-19 has reminded us is the futility in putting our trust in our wealth, 401K, intellect, networks, communication abilities, education, experience, sales pipeline, or resume. We have been reminded how quickly all sufficiencies other than Jesus can be taken from us and the mistake we made of placing so much hope in those things. COVID-19 has reminded us as Dr. Evans pointed out, how quickly God can bring us to our knees into a complete reliance on His power, presence, and provision.
It is clear the Lord has driven us to our knees. It is also clear we are going to be down here for awhile. What does He want us to learn?
- God wants us to press into Him and feel his love as our Heavenly Father.
- God wants us to recognize His supremacy over all things.
- God wants us to trust in only Him for solutions right now – not the government, not the stimulus package, not a medical breakthrough, not a rising temperature. All of these are good things but they cannot replace the Great Physician.
- God wants us to give glory to His name.
- God wants us to repent of our personal sin.
- God wants us to repent of national sin.
- God wants us to return to His Word. To assist in this process and put the first six points in context, the following are verses to help frame your biblical worldview of God in the midst of COVID-19:
- Regarding the supremacy and sovereignty of God in the midst of COVID-19, Psalm 103:19 says, “The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.” Jeremiah 32:17 adds, “Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm!”
- Amos 3:6 says, “Does disaster come to a city, unless the Lord has done it?”
- Isaiah 45:5-7 says, “I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the Lord, who does all these things.”
- Job 37:10-13 says, “By the breath of God ice is given, and the broad waters are frozen fast. He loads the thick cloud with moisture; the clouds scatter his lightning. They turn around and around by his guidance, to accomplish all that he commands them on the face of the habitable world. Whether for correction or for his land or for love, he causes it to happen.”
- Ezekiel 14:12-23 concludes, “12 And the word of the Lord came to me: 13 “Son of man, when a land sins against me by acting faithlessly, and I stretch out my hand against it and break its supply[b] of bread and send famine upon it, and cut off from it man and beast, 14 even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness, declares the Lord God.15 “If I cause wild beasts to pass through the land, and they ravage it, and it be made desolate, so that no one may pass through because of the beasts, 16 even if these three men were in it, as I live, declares the Lord God, they would deliver neither sons nor daughters. They alone would be delivered, but the land would be desolate.17 “Or if I bring a sword upon that land and say, Let a sword pass through the land, and I cut off from it man and beast,18 though these three men were in it, as I live, declares the Lord God, they would deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they alone would be delivered.19 “Or if I send a pestilence into that land and pour out my wrath upon it with blood, to cut off from it man and beast,20 even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, declares the Lord God, they would deliver neither son nor daughter. They would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness.21 “For thus says the Lord God: How much more when I send upon Jerusalem my four disastrous acts of judgment, sword, famine, wild beasts, and pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast! 22 But behold, some survivors will be left in it, sons and daughters who will be brought out; behold, when they come out to you, and you see their ways and their deeds, you will be consoled for the disaster that I have brought upon Jerusalem, for all that I have brought upon it. 23 They will console you, when you see their ways and their deeds, and you shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it, declares the Lord God.”
Return To Our Families
Malachi 4:5 says, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”
This Shelter In Place presented men with a choice. Watch the video below for what your options were:
While this is a very humorous 13 seconds, it also presented a sobering reality. Many men do not love their wives and children. Many men do not enjoy being around their wives and children.
Shelter In Place has revealed the type of husband and father you are. Density has created delight or despair. Men have been forced to spend entire weeks (and potentially months) with their families. Some have thrived! They have learned to be home-school teachers and develop other domestic skills they may have lacked. The increased time together has strengthened relational bonds and created memories which will last a lifetime. Shelter In Place has been a gift to these men.
But there has been a dark side for other men. Their experience is the opposite. In my community it was reported last week domestic violence is up 20%. Anxiety and mental health issues are skyrocketing. Churches and men’s ministries must prepare for this post-coronavirus crisis.
Proverbs 18:22 says, “He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord.”
Psalm 127:3 says, “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord.”
God is wanting men to return to their families and be the godly husbands and fathers He has called them to be.
Return Differently Than You Were Before
Do not waste a crisis. Life is not going to be the same as it was before and that is a good thing. COVID-19 is a historic opportunity for sanctification, increased spiritual maturity, and personal growth. The non-essentials in our lives have become self-evident. The following is what has become priority:
Emotional Intelligence – COVID-19 should case us to have more empathy. We have been broken – economically, socially, professionally, and personally. Arrogance is such ridiculous trait because we are all now on our knees. We should all have more humility. Petty arguments should be cast aside. We should have more kindness. Caring for others should be elevated. We should be listening more and talking less. Transformational relationship rather than transactional moments should be our priority.
Health – I have lost 27.5 lbs. since February. Shelter In Place has accelerated this process. My wife, turned nutritionist, is making all our meals and managing my portions. Let me just say they are smaller than my favorite local Bar-B-Q establishment. My issue was weight the associated blood sugar measurements. What is your health issue? Now is the time to address it.
Professional Skills – Now is the time to improve. At INJOY Stewardship Solutions where I work, our team has upgraded technology, internal and external language, personal computing skills, website, sales presentations, proposals, and products and services. This has been a wonderful time to get better at serving pastors and churches. Are you just sitting on your hands hoping COVID-19 passes as soon as possible or is your organization getting better during this time.
Personal Growth – I have been privileged to be involved in many of things listed in professional skills. However, I have also read several books which improved my thinking skills, specifically Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries. I have also taken four master classes through Masterclass.com. My favorite has been Doris Kearns Goodwin’s U.S. Presidential History And Leadership. I like books and masterclasses. For you it may be something different. It may started a side business, or wood-working, or home repair. Whatever it may be, what are you doing to get better during this time?
In closing, Return To God. Return To Your Families. Return Differently Than You Were Before. These are just three of the 100 things God is doing during a man’s life during the coronavirus. What is he doing in your’s?
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