But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23 – NASB95)
I asked this question on my Facebook page a couple of days ago: “In one word, what is the greatest lesson the Lord has been teaching you during this pandemic? Is there a character quality that has been challenged & strengthened? Is there a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23) that has been prominent in your life and daily practice? What POSITIVE thing has the Lord of glory done in you over the year 2020?”
I said for me it has been SUBMISSION. I have been learning to submit to God-given authority on a much deeper level. Wearing a mask (sign of submission) has been a great reminder to me that I am a man “under authority” for the glory of God.
I was blessed by the answers my Facebook friends posted. Here are some of the things the Lord has been doing in their lives (they weren’t all one-word answers):
Contentment; trust; being quiet in His presence; not taking anything for granted; trust & obey; patience; humility, kindness & grace; tenacious joy & contagious contentment (from a cancer patient); patience, kindness & compassion; patience & giving grace to others; grateful; acceptance of trials producing peace; life is fragile; peace with medical issues; prayer; God’s provision; peace with patience; invest in physical & spiritual health; thanksgiving; faithfulness & self-control; faith in His love for me.
It sounds to me like our faithful LORD is working mightily in His kids to conform them to the image of Jesus (Rom. 8:28-30). He is using trials to produce maturity (James 1:2-4), prove our faith, strengthen our love, and produce overwhelming joy (1 Peter 1:3-9). At a time when the world is filled with fear & anxiety, we have the privilege of putting God’s abundant grace on display through our hope and peace-filled lives.
What has God been doing in your life? What have you learned about yourself? Have you taken advantage of the time to be alone with God? Are you spending more time in the Word of God and prayer? Jesus took advantage of every opportunity to be alone with His Father. David and other Old Testament leaders set aside three times each day to pray and seek the Lord. As we will see on Sunday morning, David also set the LORD continually before him and practiced the presence of God (Ps. 16:8).
Our sovereign God and Father makes no mistakes. He is using the challenges of 2020 to refine and purify us so He can work through us in more powerful ways in the days to come. I am excited to see what He has in store as we grow together to maturity and impact as many as possible with the Gospel.
And… special thanks to everyone who helped with the BridgeKids Drive Thru Christmas on Dec. 4-5. There were about 500 cars that drove through on the two nights (2000+ people). Most of those people were not from our church and they were greatly encouraged by our efforts to point their attention to the real reason for the season. Please express your gratitude to Eddie & Xiomara Bueno (and team) for their incredible labor of love. Thanks to Steve Lively and his Christmas Carol Quartet for singing both nights. Lives were blessed!
One more thing. God is alive and well and advancing His kingdom purposes all over the world even during a pandemic. Shepherding the Nations is now training over 900 people in India & Nepal and the number will probably grow to over 1,000 in 2021. The 2+ year training program is impacting the students and their churches, and a large percentage of them are from unreached remote villages where churches will be planted in the future. Time won’t permit me to tell you the stories from our other missionaries who are seeing the Gospel reach more people via Zoom, WhatsApp, and other internet-based methods than ever before. The Lord of the Harvest is bringing in the harvest! All heaven is rejoicing as sinners repent. Let’s all join in on the fun by inviting family, neighbors & friends to our Outdoor Christmas Concert on Sunday, Dec. 20th, 4pm. Perhaps they will come to know our Lord Jesus and look back on 2020 as the best year of their lives!