Tag: isolation

Greetings, Visitors and New Beginnings Family. If you want, pour yourself a cup of coffee and then pull up a chair for the latest edition of Coffee with Gary entitled “…But God!”

One of the more depressing emotions a person may experience during the COVID-19 pandemic is a sense of isolation and loneliness. Cooped up in our house through five months of social distancing has, without a doubt, adversely affected my family.

My wife and I have somewhat diminished our feeling of isolation by keeping in touch with our children and relatives by phone. However, this is no substitute for in-person relationships. We have also found that a daily exercise regimen helps to lift our spirits.

Spiritually speaking, we miss worshiping God with our brothers and sisters in the Lord at New Beginnings Alliance Church. People we used to see every week, we have not seen since the beginning of the pandemic. Another thing we miss is hearing God’s people testify to His grace, mercy, and goodness in their lives.

For years I have heard our pastor say that watching church on television is no substitute for attending church in person. Today, I understand the point my pastor was trying to make. In five months, I have come to understand the consequences of forsaking the assembling of ourselves together and the negative effect of it in my life (Hebrews 10:25). The second part of Hebrews 10:25 instructs us to exhort one another. Exhorting one another is rather hard to do when we don’t see or hear from each other.

…But God will make a way when there is no other way.

But God made it possible for the Tuesday afternoon prayer group to meet on-site in our sanctuary wearing masks and practicing social distancing.

But God led me to write a weblog in hopes of encouraging others during this period of worldwide adversity due to COVID-19.

But God, who holds the future, led me to retire at a time that I would not have chosen. Glory to God, this has allowed me to focus my energies on navigating New Beginnings Alliance Church through uncharted territory.

But God better positioned me to minister to my wife when I retired a year and a half ago. A year ago, I could have never imagined that we’d be under the threat of a worldwide pandemic. I needed to be home with my wife because of COVID-19, and God knew this.

But God, who knows what I need, when I need it, and who will meet the need, had a fellow believer call me last week when I was feeling down. Now we did not intend for our conversation to go beyond what this believer wanted to ask me. However, we soon found ourselves encouraging one another by sharing testimonies and scriptures on a call that lasted about forty-five minutes.

But if God is for us, who can stand against us? Certainly not COVID-19! (Romans 8:31) Finally, let me encourage you to fill in the blank after the “But God” in your lives. Also, as He directs, let “God butt” into your life when He leads you to exhort other believers in unconventional ways.

Your fellow pilgrim in looking for a country of our own (Hebrews 11:13-16),

Gary