Each morning wake up and give God praise and each night review the blessings that God has given you throughout the day. Ephesians 1:3 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” What things have you found to be positive about during this pandemic? Maybe you have more quiet time with the Lord, or more family fun time, or how about walking a bit more than usual. Every time I go to a store, I thank them for being there and say “have a blessed day!” They are a blessing to me! I know someone who has left a note to the delivery people telling them they are praying for them and inviting them to leave a note if they would like to be prayed for. Some have! Isn’t that a great way to encourage? I bet you can find lots of blessings so...start counting!
On another note…when I wrote these six steps, there was no protest going on and we were all just concerned about isolating, social distancing and staying well. But now we have another concern, the welfare and justice of our nation. As I was reading Habakkuk this morning, I was struck how similar it sounded to our situation. The prophet says, “How long, O LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, ‘Violence’ but you do not save? Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails…” Does this sound like our nation today? Habakkuk was frustrated and angry. We want hate and injustice to end and forgiveness and morality to be the rule of the land. Every life matters to God! As you read this wonderful book, you will see Habakkuk wrestling with his feelings and frustrations. We do too. But he doesn’t stop there; he reminds himself who God is. He is holy and everlasting…a rock! He decides to stand at his watch and wait for God to communicate with him. And God does speak to him. At the end of chapter 3, Habakkuk says, “Even though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food….YET I will rejoice in the LORD, I WILL be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign LORD is my strength…” He went from despair, to reminding himself who God is, to trusting Him, submitting to His authority, and ultimately gaining peace and trust. Let God be your strength and focus today.