At the end of 2019, my team asked me what I felt the Lord was saying for Passover 2020. The theme He laid on my heart was “resetting your clock; redeeming your time.” At that time, I had no idea that the spring of 2020 would be a complete “pause” and an opportunity for the world and the body of Christ to reset.
The world has been permanently changed by the coronavirus pandemic. It has been painful and expensive, but it remains an opportunity for us to be different and do things differently in the future. We should not look at this season as time lost but rather time redeemed, should we choose to accept this gift.
I suspect that the culture of large gatherings will be changed forever. Just as 9/11 changed security, the COVID-19 pandemic is going to impact health security policies and most likely government legislation. While I don’t expect large events to disappear, they will be reinvented to address these challenges for us to be better prepared for undoubtedly more viruses to come.
Prophetically, I see opportunities for advanced technologies to combat these natural battles. I see great growth in immune system stem-cell technology. Early tests show in China that even those in Wuhan who had high scores on their immune system tests fared much better than those who did not. But I also see a raised awareness of the importance of taking care of our spiritual health as we are the temples of the Holy Spirit.
“Thus says the Lord of Hosts: These people say, The time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord. Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying: Is it time for you yourselves to live in paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of Hosts: Consider your ways” (Hag. 1:2-5). We must “consider our ways” when it comes to our temples in both the physical and the spiritual realm.
God is clearly saying that His house is more essential than the value man has placed on it. The priority of maintaining and taking care of “God’s house” is not where it should be. This has been a wake-up call for the church to consider its true position regarding what we believe about the blood of Jesus and how we value its power. The entire world has been immersed into a spirit of fear. But the church carries the answer to this pervasive spirit:
“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18a).
The invitation of fear comes from Satan. Fear moves Satan, and faith moves God. In His Word, God guarantees us the covenant authority to overcome: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Tim. 1:7, NKJV).
Fear is a negative thing, but we are seeing beauty out of ashes springing up in the wake of its destruction—this fear has become a bridge of opportunity for reconciliation. We see it in the United States with bipartisan efforts, and we see it in Israel with united efforts among Jews, Christians and Arabs to combat an invisible enemy.
Through social media, we see that we have a common enemy, and we have a raised awareness of the world economy and an awakening to the power of goodness and compassion.
As things continue to shift, the body of Christ needs to remain a part of the answer. We have to change how we see ourselves as we embrace an identity as a Solomon or Joseph. The church is an essential part of our communities, but only when we provide spiritual essential services for families and humanitarian aid. It is time we embrace our spiritual identity.
The body of Christ also needs to physically prepare ourselves for a transfer of wealth—invest in blue-chip stocks, farmable land and silver. The transfer of wealth comes to those who are both physically and spiritually prepared.
We must teach God’s people to seek first the kingdom of God and restore biblical finance of tithes, offerings and giving. Teach God’s people to love God and each other. Teach God’s people to return to their Father and their biblical roots. And teach God’s people how to grow as disciples who operate in the nine gifts of the Spirit.
This world pause was truly an opportunity for us to “selah”—pause, listen, reset and redirect. But it is only an opportunity if we take it. {eoa}
Curt Landry is the founder of Curt Landry Ministries (curtlandry.com).
This article was excerpted from the August issue of Charisma magazine. If you don’t subscribe to Charisma, click here to get every issue delivered to your mailbox. During this time of change, your subscription is a vote of confidence for the kind of Spirit-filled content we offer. In the same way you would support a ministry with a donation, subscribing is your way to support Charisma. Also, we encourage you to give gift subscriptions at shop.charismamag.com, and share our articles on social media.
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