COVID-19 Novel Encouragement Sample

This Opportunity

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ… I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. Philippians 1:6, 12-14

I'm writing this on our last quarantine day in Beijing.  Friends back home pray for us; some are worried that we're miserable. My family laughed when I told them my mother wanted to send us jigsaw puzzles so we wouldn't be bored. We've been anything but bored or idle. For one thing, our whole family's busy with online teaching and learning. We cannot travel as freely as before, but we have it easier than Paul, who wrote to the Philippians from prison. During some of his confinements, Paul had contact with others. In Caesarea, friends were allowed to take care of his needs (Acts 24:23) and in Rome, he stayed in his own rented house (Acts 28: 30, 31) from where he continued to boldly share the Gospel with guests.  During our quarantine, a friend is "authorized" to bring us food. We cannot have guests, but unlike Paul, we have the internet and phones. What we don't have is a legitimate excuse for being idle or not sharing the Gospel. 

Being Changed

I hope Novel Encouragements have blessed you as much as they have me. The Lord is using everything to change my life, and if you allow Him to, He'll change your life too.  Staying inside, wearing masks, and avoiding crowds are only temporary surface changes, but God wants to use this time to make long-term deeper life-changes. How does He want to change you? Perhaps it will mean more Bible-reading and prayer.  Paul not only prayed for his friends (Philippians 1:3-11) but was so in tune with the Lord that he wrote several Holy-Spirit inspired New Testament Epistles from prison. Don't let this period pass without getting to know the Lord more intimately.   

THIS Opportunity

Another change many of us are experiencing is described in another prison epistle where Paul urged readers to be "making the most of every opportunity" (Ephesians 5:16). In the same letter, Paul asked his friends for prayer, but instead of asking for his difficult days to be shortened, his urgent prayer was for God to help him boldly proclaim the Word (6:19, 20). Paul wasn't counting off days to when life would be back to "normal." I hope our friends pray for a timely end to corona, for our families' protection, and for reduced inconveniences, but our urgent prayer need is to more effectively advance the Gospel.  Are people back home worried about you now? Paul assured his friends in Philippi that his confinement was not in vain: "what has happened to me has really happened to advance the Gospel." (Philippians 1:12 NIV) Through this calamity, many of us have found new opportunities to advance the Gospel, online or around the world.  Paul also encouraged believers from prison. One way we can do that is to pass on these bi-lingual Novel Encouragements to many other believers.  God will not return us to "normal," but only continually draw us to grow closer to him, encourage others, and share the Gospel.

Pray together today:

Our Father in heaven, you see the difficulty people are going through during this epidemic. I ask you to comfort and provide for your people and I pray for a timely end to the virus. I also know that you are sovereign and through this difficulty, you work everything for good. Please help me to take advantage of this opportunity to grow closer to you, to encourage other believers, and to reach out to lost people with the Good News of Jesus.  Help me not to just count off days until the troubles are over and I can go back to "normal," but help me to move forward in your plan, to make the most of every opportunity, every day; opportunities to quiet myself in your presence, and opportunities to serve.  When this whole thing is finally over, I will not be the same as I was before it all started, because you are changing me and you are changing the world through me.  Life will not be the same as before, but better because I'm closer to you. Thank you for graciously choosing to include me in your amazing plan.  Amen.

 By M Knapp, BICF City Church, Beijing