How to Regain Your Vision During ‘Birth Pangs’ of COVID-19

“With this faith I will go out and carve a tunnel of hope from a mountain of despair.” —Dr. Martin Luther King

Without question, our lives are in a Matthew 24 moment. Jesus warned us of the birth pangs our natural world would experience as it yearns with eager expectation to be free from its bondage to the decay and corruption of sin. Pestilence, famines and earthquakes were to be expected. He forewarned us not to fear, but as His church, to be faithful in our assignments, to stay full of Holy Spirit oil, to occupy until He comes and to be watchful in prayer.

But how do we pray in times of despair? How do we lift up our hearts in faith when tears flood our eyes and our chests tighten in fear when we witness the destruction all around us? I found a clue when I remembered some of the final words spoken by Martin Luther King Jr. in a speech given the day before he died. They serve as a timeless exit strategy in any moment of personal or national despair.

“I want to say that I tried to love and serve humanity. I just want to leave a committed life behind. I just want to do God’s will. With this faith I will go out and carve a tunnel of hope from a mountain of despair. He allowed me to go up the mountain, and I’ve looked over and have seen the promised land!”

There you have it! Without a vision, we remain overcome and overwhelmed at the foot of the mountain. Open your Bible, for in its pages you discover a merciful God who joyfully specializes in restoration. Faith can carve your tunnel, can get you to the other side, but only if the promise of God frames your future. Once you get a revelation of God’s will and ability to reconstruct your life, your home, your family and even your nation, your prayers will be full of hope, not despair, faith and not foreboding.

When you pray this Passover week, remember, what you are really doing is carving a tunnel, making your way through to your promised land!

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