Find Peace in the Chaos
By @DeenaAdams on DeenaAdams.com
CLICK TO TWEET: Amid the chaos, there’s a peace in Jesus available to all who know Him.
We are living in unprecedented times, and fear is a real enemy among us.
If you’ve read the Bible, you know scriptures abound with instructions not to fear and to know God is with us. I’ll remind us of a few.
Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. Isaiah 41:10
For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7
The Lord is my light and my salvation—so why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble? Psalm 27:1
I need this in my life right now in a big way, don’t you?
The doctor diagnosed my mother with stage IIIC ovarian cancer two weeks ago and, with the Coronavirus pandemic shutting down businesses across the country, everything is taking longer and her chemo treatments have been delayed.
When my mind wants to latch on to fear and camp out on every negative possibility, my spirit trusts in the sovereignty of God and the truth that He has my mom in the palm of His hand.
I have to trust that when she can’t begin treatments, God is protecting her from something worse.
Sonlight Church began as a church plant just over twenty years ago. We’ve been portable all this time and haul several trailers filled with carts each week to set up and break down equipment as we transform a middle school into a house of worship.
In December, we began negotiations with a storefront landlord to rent space for our church. We jumped through hoop after hoop to receive approval to rent the facility.
It seemed God had removed every obstacle, and we purchased 150 chairs for the space, which are non-refundable, paid for architectural drawings of the space, and began plans to move in just before Easter 2020.
After further discussion on a couple of minor issues in the lease, we came to an agreement. My husband signed the lease in January and sent it back to the landlord for his signature.
A businessman had made an offer to purchase the building and asked the landlord not to rent the space to us until they could review the lease and determine if they wanted to honor the terms.
What?!
We had 150 chairs on order, five large-screen televisions in our garage for the space, and a church full of excited people ready to have a facility we could use 24/7 and no longer have to set up and break down each week. Talk about deflating.
It confused us.
When the Coronavirus came on the scene and our local schools closed the beginning of March, our church was out of a meeting space.
But churches with buildings are now out of a meeting space too.
The difference in us and them? They still have to make mortgage/rent payments and we don’t.
If our lease had gone through, we’d be in the middle of a construction project and paying a monthly lease payment we may not be able to afford with church tithes and offerings projected to drop while not meeting together.
Could God have kept us from getting so far in the process and losing money on the drawings, chairs, and an Easter mailer we paid to have printed we can no longer use? Yes, He could have. Why didn’t He?
We’ve yet to hear anything from the building buyer, but I plan to trust Jesus through our church’s circumstances, along with my husband’s job in the aftermath of this pandemic, the fallout economically on our own personal finances and that of our country, and my mother’s health concerns.
God is still on the throne and He’s not surprised by anything that has happened in my life or in yours, or around the world.
There’s a lot of disappointment going around right now. Weddings canceled. Graduations. Immediate family only at funerals. No visitors to hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities. Exchange students being shipped back to their countries early. Not to mention the health and welfare of those still out there working each day exposing themselves to the virus, or those who’ve lost loved ones through this terrible disease. The list goes on and on.
The world is literally in chaos.
People are in a panic. We’ve seen that through the empty shelves in the grocery stores.
Where is your trust? Where is your hope?
I pray it’s in the one true God and no other. He is faithful. He is good.
O my people, trust in him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge. Psalm 62:8
May you find comfort in this song by Lauren Daigle, “Peace Be Still.”
Join the conversation. How are you holding up through the Coronavirus pandemic? How can I pray for you? Have you found comfort in God’s Word through this time or in other crisis situations you’re facing? What scriptures speak peace to your troubled soul?
Deena Adams
As a Jesus girl for more than thirty years, Deena Adams understands how important hope is to daily life, which fuels her passion to inspire others through hope-filled fiction based on true to life stories. She is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency and is a multi-award-winning writer, an active ACFW member, and ACFW Virginia president. Connect with Deena through her website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
God at Work Amid Tragedy
12 Comments
Lynn Moore
Deena…like so many others….I’ve experienced numerous times of fear, anxiety and disillusionment over life crushing
situations. The difference with this pandemic is that it is beyond personal…it stretches out from our homes and reaches around the world. The unknown is such a scary place. But God & His great love & compassion have taught me “2” things that I can say with certainty…..
(1) God has not called me to understand this.
(2) Regardless of the situation….He calls me to trust Him.
And trust Him…..I do!
Deena Adams
Lynn, beautifully expressed. Yes, we must trust God even when we don’t understand. You reflect such a godly testimony of trust when it’s hard. I admire you and am grateful to call you my friend.
Melissa Henderson
Trusting in Him today and every day. Yes, these are scary times. I pray and share my concerns with Him. I know He is listening. He loves us and is holding us in His loving arms.
Deena Adams
Amen, Melissa! Thanks for sharing your encouraging words.
Terri Main
During this time, our church is been meeting online. Last week, we did a Facebook live. Now, we are a small church of about 100 people. Right now, we have over 2000 people who have viewed our service. It short, we have reached out to bar people being “locked out“ of our brick and mortar church.
I have worked with people for Betty years with online ministry. However, this is provided the tipping point. Always before, it was for specific groups of people, like those who We are housebound or who lived In remote areas. But it wasn’t for Bihn stream people. Now, online is becoming mainstream.
I work with a national ministry that just tonight had an online Bible study. We have people from Canada, the United States, and Hong Kong. We met in a video conference room on Zoom.
I also heard about one church that is doing a variation on the drive in church. They are setting up a platform in their parking lot and broadcasting the audio on A low power FM broadcaster.
You don’t need for walls to create a church. The church is the people. And whether we’re on line, and cars, or sitting in the pews, the church will Iendure
Deena Adams
So true, Terri! We are also a small church and our online services have reached well over a thousand each week. As a portable church for 20 years, we’ve always been well aware of the fact church is not a building but the people. We’re looking into Zoom now to figure out how to have our small groups meeting that way. It’s just been a lot at one time to figure out so we’re taking it a step at a time.
Thanks so much for joining the conversation! May God bless you and your church as you continue to serve Him.
Terri Main
Yes, right now, I’m working with a number of groups that are setting up cyberchurch outreaches. I set up my (well God’s but every website I set up I feel a type of parental ownership ) first cyberchurch about 20 years ago without even thinking that one day, that might be the primary way for people to go to church during a pandemic.
Deena Adams
That’s awesome! I know many are blessed by your expertise in this area. Thank you for your heart to help others!
Deena Adams
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Brenda. I’m praying for you and Jim, and all in the medical field. We’re so blessed to have people like Katie taking care of our people during this crisis. May God have mercy on us all. And thank you for your prayers for my family, especially my mom.
Brenda
Sweet Deena,
What an encouragement! But God…
Katie, my daughter is in the midst of the storm being in the hospital with sick and possible victims of the virus. She works in the lab, but it’s all hands on deck right now so she’s testing patients. Protective gear is slow to come in and they are going to help patients with only a mask for protection!! Jim still has to work, so I’m praying that the workers in the city don’t get exposed, exposing Jim. It is a trying time.
Peace over me, you, your family, your mom and all of this country! Praying that your mom feels God in her life and draws closer to Him during the waiting period.
Love you and thanks for the reminders!
Deena Adams
Thanks for weighing in, Traci. Yes, even amid the division and frustrations in our country, America is still the best country in the world in my opinion. God has blessed us so much, and I pray we will acknowledge Him during this time and see a great revival and spiritual awakening to what is truly important. Stay safe my friend!
Traci Winget
Your words come in perfect timing. So many questions, but confidence that God is not surprised by any of this pandemic. Or the reactions. Or the amazing coming together of this great country. Automobile companies making ventilators. Distilleries making hand sanitizer. People staying away from each other, for the most part. Your mom is not able to get the care she needs right now, and that is very, very sad, but the doctors and nurses and scientists on the front lines are going above and beyond what anyone thought they would ever need to do at any point in time. We are a country that pulls together ~ even at a political time when it looks like we are so divided. We can whine and moan at all of the negatives, but there are so many positives and a great & sovereign God who controls it all. Let’s keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.
Thank you for your words of encouragement.