Be Strong and Courageous

Be strong and courageous.
Deuteronomy 31:6, 7, 23; Joshua 1:6, 7, 9, 19; Joshua 10:25; 1 Chronicles 22:13; 1 Chronicles 28:20; 2 Chronicles 32:7

Don’t we need strength and courage right now?

After repeating that phrase so many times, I think our God really means it. Anything that He calls us to do, He also equips us to do.

Joshua 1:9 goes on, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

What can we say about these unprecedented times that we live in?

Certainly, we have nothing to say that is new or will change what we are experiencing. The phrase that we have used for so many situations applies today as well – this too shall pass. 

WE ARE . . .

We are tired of being confined . . . . of not getting to see the people that we want to see . . . . of being afraid of everyone we see when we go to the grocery store. We are overwhelmed by all the death and sickness. We are sad to miss coming together with other believers on Sunday. We are anxious about how this pandemic is affecting the economy. 

But we will make it through. Our Lord has promised to be all we need when we seek Him. “How much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11) “His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him.” (2 Peter 1:3)

THE POSITIVE

Our prayers are for some positive, long-term, side benefits in our culture. We see families spending more time together than they ever have. We see people relying on personal worship in the absence of corporate worship. We see people encouraging each other. People are showing their creativity and humor to the social media world. We are all s l o w i n g down. We recognize that the true heroes in our world work in health care, the grocery store, teaching, food service, and delivery trucks. We can live without the athletic and entertainment superstars. We can live without our hurried pace of life. But we know that we can’t live without each other and without HIM!

PERSONAL

On a more personal note, during this time, we went through a health care scare that had nothing to do with the virus. Ed had some pain in his leg. Went to the doctor. Had lots of x-rays and tests. For a week, we thought he had multiple myeloma. By the grace of God, he does not. He was diagnosed with a condition with the acronym MGUS. A small percentage of the people with MGUS do go on to develop multiple myeloma. He will have six-month checkups to monitor his condition. Please pray with us that it will not progress to MM. 

ZAMBIA

We did cancel our Zambia mission trip for June. We were all disappointed. We really need to go before the end of the year to help prepare the computer lab and science lab for the high school. Zambia closed schools starting the last week of April. They do not have very many cases that they know of at this time. But they do not have widespread testing and their health care system will be inadequate to cope with a widespread epidemic. In the slum where the Children of WISDOM live, there is no running water in homes. So, their ability to be hygienic during this critical time is very limited. Please pray for our students and teachers, for their health and protection.

Please let us know how you are doing. Our office is closed but you can email us at info@livingwellokc.org. 

THANK YOU again for your continued prayers, support, and encouragement. We could not do what we do without YOU!

Our love in Christ,

Donna and Ed Edwards
P.S. Please pray for us as we go through this unusual situation in our world and for continued support for the ministry.

The water that I will give him will

become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life. 

John 4:14b 

LIVING WELL is a life source, not a life style.