As Christians we live in the shadow of the almighty God not under the shadow of the corona virus COVID19. Corona means crown, but it doesn't have to reign over us. We are called to be without worry, without fear. We should be careful, and take proper precautions like washing hands and social distancing for a time, but we should not succumb to worry or fear. Worrying is avoidable. It's a choice.
I have a dear mother and father in law that are over 85 years old. This virus has made us change the way we visit them, support them and buy food for them. They are vulnerable and need to be protected. We make every effort to help them ina safe way. But we don't fear them dying or fear that we will die either. We live every day in faith that God is near, protecting us and them.
Struck by the virus
A week after I released the Change My Mind album, (on March 27th), I got hit with what was probably COVID19. I had all the symptoms except the extreme shortness of breath. I never feared that I would die and I know that if I did I would be with Jesus which is not all that bad at all. It did slow me down considerably but it didn't make me lose hope, worry or be fearful. I drank tea, slept and took medicine and read some books. It was tough and I felt weak but I was thankful to get time to reflect and rest after so much work with the album.
New Music Video: Come to Me
Because I was sick, I was forced to stop promoting the album and making music videos until my strength was back- about ten days. Last week I finally added one new music video, Come to Me to my YouTube channel. Please take some time to watch it and subscribe to my channel if you haven't already. I hope you'll like it. Please feel free to share it and all the other videos with all of your friends. They are all free! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYzkKKC_ZmhwhAsZWejVuMQ
Power Verses
The Bible is full of comfort and hope even in this virus situation. People all around are panicking but you don't have to. Here are some power verses to meditate on during this pandemic, verses that will help you keep your thoughts on the One who is in control and who holds your future in HIs loving hands:
1 John 4:18; 2 Tim 1:17; Isaiah 40:31 and last, but not least John 14: 1 to name a few...
There are many more verses that I could mention but allow me to particularly mention John 14:1,
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me."
This was from the portion of Scripture I was meditating on when I wrote the song Don't Worry from the Change My Mind album. There's more great verses in John 14 that can lift you up in this difficult time - read the whole chapter. Good stuff!
The words to the song Don't Worry are the result of me comparing various Bible translations. "You trust in God, so trust in me" is an unusual translation but it exists. I stopped and thought about that when I wrote the song.
It's one thing to believe in someone and a deeper thing to trust in someone. So, I chose to use the deeper translation. Why? Because I know that in my own life the fear and worry doesn't go away just because I believe that God is in control. I need to trust that he is good and will help me too. So some may think that I missed the Scriptures when I wrote the song, but in reality this version ("trust") is in the original texts and can be translated into our culture in this way.
Don't Worry
So, let me leave you with a link to the song on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/14aqQS1kk6M7RsuaiTe8hL?si=aZVMcrc3TNKdkqCm6Jd5Iw
And here is the link to the music video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/e90t2zrKgus
The Change My Mind album (released March 27th) is a 12 track, full length album with many different songs to help explain how I traveled from a mindset of stress to a life of rest through God's unconditional love.
In case you missed the album, you can follow this link and get it/listen now for free. Songs that can help in this pandemic are many but I feel that Just How Good (Psalm 23) is a winner. The Lord is like a Shepherd taking care of us, his sheep!
Here is the music video for Psalm 23:
So, take some time every day to meditate on power verses like the ones above and listen to music that helps you focus on God's promises! This will help you rest under the shadow of the Almighty (God). Trust in God that he will pull your loved ones through this. He is good.
Let me leave you with a few more power verses that can be of comfort to you and help you stay under the shadow of the Almighty God. The secret is dwelling close to the Lord.
Psalm 91: 1 - 7
1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 2I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
3Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. 4He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. 5You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, 6nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. 7A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
Think about these words when fear tries to get a hold of you. Be blessed!
Wishing you the very best,
Elisabeth K.