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March 16, 2020 Jfuglerwriter 2 Comments

Coronavirus: A believer’s response

The Coronavirus pandemic has rocked our world. Not just the globe, but our personal lives. Everyone is talking about it. Opinions are flying everywhere. Fear has nations in its grip.

As believers, how are we supposed to respond? Our faith is certainly put to the test. If we believe God is sovereign, ruler of everything (including the Coronavirus), fear shouldn’t even be in our vocabulary. But, for many Christians, it is.

That’s easy to understand. Wherever we turn, news of the Coronavirus pops up. Every third email is about the Coronavirus, sent by my bank, airlines, department stores, my church, hotel chains and my financial advisor.

Our emotions are frayed. On the outside, we appear calm, but our intense discussions say otherwise. In all of this, we might find it hard to shut out the world and open our hearts to Jesus.

Everyone is talking about the Coronavirus.

And so is God.

He has been talking about it for centuries. It may have been under a different name, but this crisis is not new to him. Imagine the lepers of the New Testament, the Bubonic Plague centuries ago and Ebola that is wreaking havoc in Africa. The Swine Flu over a decade ago. And there are other earth-shattering crises I could name.

God has been speaking about calamities since the beginning of time. These upheavals get our attention. And the attention of the world.

God’s timeless words reach us in the pandemonium of the pandemic. Jesus said, “ Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28 NIV)

The early church was encouraged by the Apostle Paul, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Philippians 4:6 NIV)

For the first time in my memory of 60 years, our world has come to a halt. It won’t be for a day, or a week, but it could be for months. Who knows?

Your social life is on hold. Your church life, too. And any sports or cultural events on your schedule are cleared out. Trips you’ve planned are likely pushed back indefinitely. Schools are closed. Workplaces are resorting to remote officing.

I just had a conference postponed, as well as an international visit from a colleague. We’ll meet by Zoom.

Life is at a crawl. This is a serious thing for many businesses. My son works for an airline. That industry has been quickly crushed. Your own work situation might be tentative.

In the midst of this crisis comes opportunity. You now have the time to spend with God. Your schedule has opened up in a way it may never have before and may never open up in the future. The blocks of time you had set aside for events, trips, gatherings and other activities are now wide open.

John Piper wrote a book over a decade ago called Don’t Waste Your Life. A few years later, he came down with cancer. His pulpit message soon after was, “Don’t waste your cancer.” His message was that everything in our lives can be used for God’s glory.  Even bad things.

Let’s not waste the Coronavirus. This evil disease will not beat us, but it is a trigger to get our relationship right with God. We can experience a renewed intimacy with the Lord, going deeper than we ever have. Not for temporary results, but lifelong.

(Taken from my new book, Fresh Faith: Leaning on God in the Corona Crisis. Available NOW. Free).

July 13, 2019 Jfuglerwriter Comments Off on Encouragement and Covering

Encouragement and Covering

It was a torrential downpour, but I decided to make a dash from the house to the car. Certainly I couldn’t get too wet in 20 yards. Off I went as fast as I could. In a brisk crosswind, the rain pelted me hard from the left side. What looked like a mere 20 yards seemed like a football field. My clothing was drenched from the rain and my shoes became sopping wet as I splashed through the puddles.

By the time I made it to the car, fumbled for my keys, got the door open and slid in, I was a wet rat. I looked at myself in the mirror, saw my soaked, matted hair and thought, “Nice job you fool.”

An umbrella would have solved the problem but I was sure I’d be fine on my own.

Fast forward to today. I was thinking about all the things on my plate, from projects to people, from deadlines to deliveries. They’ve been mounting up. The drizzle has become a steady rain.

God offers me immediate relief from drizzle, rain or downpours in my life. I discovered that wonderful truth this morning and it changed me.

I took a deep breath and remembered this thing called prayer. Had I really committed all these things to God? Yes, I’d prayed in passing, but I knew I needed God’s covering. Kind of like that umbrella in the downpour. I was working so hard to juggle everything and get it all right that I’d left all those things out of my prayer life.

Just discovering this was an encouragement. I felt safe again and I hadn’t even started praying. I paused and prayed in detail for the rain that was falling around me, confidently trusting God instead of me. And wow! It was like I had struck gold.

God will cover you in all you do when you cover your life in prayer. How cool is it that God will take everything on your plate and deal with it his way? He offers you insight, power, relief, peace, confidence and rest. Yes, he will! He promises.

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28 NIV)

“By prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7 ESV)

“Casting your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” (I Peter 5:7 ESV)

There’s a benefit far greater than personal relief. And it’s this: You’re trusting the Almighty God with these big things on your plate rather than trusting yourself to work it all out.

Can you imagine what will happen when you give it all to God and watch him step in? He’s infinite. You’re finite. He knows everything. You don’t. He’s all-wise. You’re a wise guy. (I couldn’t resist that).

Enjoy God. Walk under his covering as you cover it all in prayer. Experience his encouragement as he bears the burdens for you.

From my new devotional, Your Life With God: 30 Days of Encouragement, releasing in days.

August 28, 2018 Jfuglerwriter Comments Off on Joy and Rest

Joy and Rest

The alarm goes off in the morning and the race is on.  You crawl out of bed at a turtle’s pace and make it to the shower.  As you run the upcoming day through your mind, your senses come alive. In fact, it becomes intense as you think about it.

Kids to school, Jamie to the dentist appointment, report due today for my boss, meeting where I’m presenting, two after-school practices for soccer in two different places, get dinner done tonight in time for Bobby’s lessons… just pick up burgers…

It’s no wonder that joy has escaped the average Christian.  There’s no room for it in the schedule.

But the problem is deeper than that. You don’t rest.  You’re chasing life, whether it be a full schedule with kids or activities of your own.

The truth is that anxiety, fear, rushing and striving take the place of joy.

Instead of kicking yourself and being disappointed in your lifestyle, here’s a suggestion.

Rest.

Yes. Rest.

“But I don’t have time!” you say. “You just described my life to a “t”.

Not a good excuse.  Jesus had one of the most demanding schedules I can think of and he found time to rest.  Even in crisis.

“On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’ And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’”  (Mark 4:35-38 ESV)

Can you rest when the constant winds and waves of life smack you around?

I think it’s time to change your schedule so there’s room for rest.  You’’ have margin in your life to recuperate, refresh and rejuvenate.  You must find the time.

Start today and carve out 20 minutes to rest.  It may come at lunch, where you simply go to your car and sit there, emptying your heart to the Lord.  Or even taking a nap.

Jesus invites you.  “”Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28 ESV)

Give yourself permission to rest today.  And tomorrow.  And the next day.

We are finite creatures and we need the replenishing practice of rest. Without feeling guilty for enjoying it.

If you practice rest on a daily basis, I know that the joy of the Christian life will seep back into your life.

(Experience more joy when you read my devotional Your Life With God: 30 Days of Joy).

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