It is still difficult to accept the time in which we live. This pandemic just won’t go away. Over 125,000 have now lost their life, and thousands of others have been struck by this killer virus.
Add to that the protesting and rioting, and it makes for a country in chaos. The 24-hour news networks constantly flood our mind with reminders and images of how difficult the present times are. It’s taking a toll on millions.
Recently I was meditating on Matthew chapter 9. Jesus was on the move: curing diseases and casting out demons. The people were being tremendously blessed, exclaiming, “We have never seen anything like this in Israel.”
The power of God coming out of Jesus was flowing into countless lives, ridding them of the hopelessness that so many had experienced.
And then you come to the last three verses in Matthew 9. It’s then that you discover God’s solution to the brokenness of man.
In Matthew 9, after healing many people, Jesus looks out on the crowds before Him. We’re told that when He saw them, He was “moved with compassion.”
This word - compassion - is the strongest word for “pity” in the Greek language. It could be said that Jesus was moved to the point of hurting when he looked at the multitudes, filled with pity.
In the New International Version, it states the people were “harassed and helpless.” These are very descriptive phrases. According to one Bible commentator, “harassed” carries the idea of a corpse which is flayed and mangled; someone who has been plundered, or is weary due to a long journey. The other phrase, “helpless,” indicates someone who has fallen to the ground due to drunkenness, or the result of an injury.
Does this not sound like millions of Americans in this present hour? They’ve been plundered; they’re worn out, they’re lying on the ground, suffering from an injury that an assailant has inflicted.
According to the Washington Post -
Half of Americans claim the pandemic is harming their mental health
A federal emergency hotline for people in emotional distress registered a more than 1,000 percent increase in April compared with the same time last year
It was heartbreaking to read the story of 23-year old John Mondello, an EMT in the Bronx (New York). Only three months into his job he took his life.
This stress is certainly having affect on the world of law enforcement. This year, 87 police officers have taken their life (five officers have been shot and killed in the last 35 days - 51 officers have died from the virus).
What is the answer to all this heartbreak?
Jesus provides it in Matthew 9. He turns to His disciples and lays the truth on the table:
“The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.”
There is no “PLAN B” dear reader. God’s remedy for this present hour is the same as it has always been. It is not the Democrats or the Republicans: the Left or the Right. His remedy for the chaos of the present hour is … YOU.
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POLICE OFFICER DEATHS IN 2020 - 116.
9/11 related cancer - 3
Aircraft accident - 1
Automobile crash - 14
COVID19 - 51
Duty related illness - 2
Gunfire - 27
Gunfire (Inadvertent) 1
Heart attack - 4
Motorcycle crash 2
Struck by vehicle 4
Vehicle pursuit - 2
Vehicular assault - 5
The sickness of mankind requires a doctor: and YOU have been called to heal.
Matthew 9 closes with these words: “Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."
YOU are one of those workers.
YOU are just as “called” as your preacher. The calling on his life is no more important than the one on YOUR life!
YOU have been commissioned as surely as any missionary on this planet.
We must stop waiting for someone else to fix this mess.
Our politicians have failed us time and time again. The answer does not lie in the White House: it lies in God’s House. And that house is … YOU (“we are His house” - Hebrews 3:6).
I realize that the virus has severely limited us for now, but it has not completely shut the door. Pick up the phone, call a friend, and encourage him - her.
Send an email to someone you know that is “harassed and helpless.”
For heaven’s sake, do more than just post your gripes on facebook! If there is a situation that troubles you, see what you can do to fix it! Do more than just sit in your favorite chair watching the news, complaining how , “the country is falling apart!”
Don’t just watch the news: make the news!
In the midst of this pandemic and rioting in streets, don’t be silent. The Commander-in-Chief of the Lord’s Army (Jesus) has called you up. You have been officially declared “active.” Put on the whole armor of God and dive into the midst of this chaos.
Seek His face until you know what He wants you to do.
On the 4th anniversary of the murder of five police officers in downtown Dallas (July 7, 2016), I decided to “do something” to show my support for police (I’m a 35-year retired officer).
I made my own signs and found myself a busy intersection where I could display them (click here to read an article from Law Officer about my experience.)
