COVID-19 Novel Encouragement Sample

REMEMBER WHO LIVES IN YOU

"for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control." 2 Timothy 1:7 (ESV)

Dear Family in Christ,

Starting today, we are launching 60 days of digital encouragement called Novel Encouragement. This will be sent out daily through all the relevant church communication channels. We are facing an unprecedented crisis of the Coronavirus spread all over the world. The number of confirmed and suspected cases keep increasing every day. This has created fear in the minds of many people.

Timothy faced a similar fear, although in a different kind of challenge as a young minister who was pastoring in Ephesus. The Apostle Paul had to remind him of the kind of Spirit who was living in him. He enabled Timothy to face his fears squarely and fulfill his calling as a pastor. The same Holy Spirit is living in you and me. He can enable us to fulfill His calling in our lives individually and corporately as a family of Churches in the world. What must we remember?

We must remember that the Holy Spirit who lives in us makes us fearless. God understands our tendency to easily be afraid and that is why we have so many ‘fear not’ bible verses. In Isaiah 41:10, God spoke to His people through the Prophet Isaiah and I quote “fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Instead of fear, we must be filled with faith. Our faith must be anchored on the finished work of Jesus Christ. It is through him that we received the Spirit of adoption as sons and by whom we cry Abba! Father! Halleluiah! We are no longer slaves to fear but we are children of God. Our heavenly Father loves us deeply and He is watching over us. The God who watches over us neither sleeps nor slumbers. I pray that every chain of fear over your life, over your city and over your nation be broken. I pray that you be filled with faith. I pray that we shall be strong and courageous as we march forward together in this land.

Not only must we be fearless, but we must also remember that the Holy Spirit who lives in us is the Spirit of power, love, and self-control. He empowers us to do extraordinary things for the kingdom. He fills our hearts with unconditional and sacrificial love. Above all, He gives us self-control that can help us not to panic in this crisis. People all around us are stricken with fear, but through the power of God, we can show them the love of Jesus. This is an opportunity for us to be salt and light to our neighbors, classmates, colleagues from both the ex-pat and local communities. This is the time for us to pray for the world more than ever before and at the same time show the love of Jesus by meeting the immediate needs around us. My prayer is that even in this crisis, the power of God will be made manifest through us as ambassadors who are representing the King of kings. I pray that your light will shine brighter and brighter in this darkness. 

Blessings,
Pastor Favour Ibom, BICF Beijing, Nigerian