“Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; But the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising” (Isaiah 60:1-3).
Our Heavenly Father we come before You longing to hear a word from You. You have been with us through this long dark night of pain and suffering. As we look forward to the dawning of a new day, we ask You to keep us close to Your side. This is our prayer in the Holy name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
This is the message I shared at noon with those who were present on the SCC Noon Prayer Line today. It has been slightly modified.
For the past fifteen months we have experienced deep darkness, all around the world! No one saw COVID-19 coming. It caught everyone, except the One who “[keeps] watch above His own” by surprise! Thank God nothing catches Him by surprise. In God’s foreknowledge, He had already prepared a way where there seemed to be no way.
I did some research on the beginnings of the Internet. The means of communication that made of our vast world one closely knit community, during a time of isolation. Who would have thought that anything good could have come from the internet when so many schemes and scandals have been related to its use!
But what the enemy thought he would use exclusively for his devious purposes, God had reserved for His use for such a time as this, to bring the light of God to a world enveloped in darkness!
Notice what God had promised to Israel of old, that has been fulfilled in our day:
But the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising”
We have seen this come to pass before our very eyes.
- In many virtual churches more people attend Sabbath School and Prayer Meeting on-line by ZOOM, or by phone, than in-person.
- A very good friend of mine, an Armenian pastor, reported that where there were only a handful of members, they have had 300-400 people on-line studying the Bible, and even had some ready for baptism.
Yes, many have grown spiritually in this deep darkness. This growth has also brought about a glowing in the darkness that has attracted others, who, prior to this, had no interest in spiritual things. By God’s grace, they will be following the light shining from our virtual churches to the buildings where we worship. And when they arrive, may they meet Jesus!