Morning Devotional, May 1, 2020
Michael L. Brown is the founder and president of FIRE School of Ministry in Concord, North Carolina, Director of the Coalition of Conscience, and host of the daily, nationally, syndicated talk radio show, the Line of Fire, as well as the host of the apologetics TV show, “Answering Your Toughest Questions.” He is the author of more than 35 books, holds a Ph. D. in Near Eastern Languages and Literatures from New York University, and has served as a visiting or adjunct professor at seven leading seminaries. He is widely recognized as today’s foremost Messianic Jewish apologist.
Transcript
Hey, friends. This is Michael Brown. I just wanted to share with you from Psalm 46. It's a psalm that immediately came to my heart when there was so much panic about the coronavirus, and we began to hear the words pandemic. And when you began to hear the terrible reports from Italy and other parts of the world, and this "invisible enemy." What do we do about it?
Psalm 46 says, "God is our refuge and stronghold, a help in trouble, very near." In Hebrew, nimsa meod — "is very much found." "Therefore, we are not afraid." Now listen to this: "Though the earth reels, though mountains topple into the sea, its waters rage and foam in its swell, mountains quake."
Why is it that we don't fear? Why is it that calamity on this level — the whole world being shaken — we don't fear? Because God is with us. Whether we live, whether we die, God is with us. During peace, during a storm, God is with us.
And I see that this pandemic has revealed in many Christian hearts a lack of foundation of faith and security. Again, we can't guarantee our own health tomorrow. Our lives are in God's hands. But when there is panic, when there is fear the way the world fears, this is a wake-up call to us to put our roots deeper in God. And to take hold of God Himself. Not just some minor power, not a world power, but God Himself, saying to us, His people: "Fear not. I'm with you."
Friends, that's literally all I need to know. If He's with me, I'm in right relationship with Him and He's with me. Everything will turn out good in the end, in this world or the world to come. So God himself says, "Fear not."
