Friday 20 March 2020


FOCUS YOUR EYES ON GOD
Pr. James Victor Lubwama
Psalm 46:1-4 (NIV)
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. 4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. 5 God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day”
You might be worried thinking that the world has come to an end. But personally, when I am going through a situation, I always want to know what God is saying. These days, the entire world wants to know what America and other super powers are saying about the situation, but as Christians, we long to hear from God because He has the answer and solution to our questions and worries.
You should note that there is nothing new word under the sun. Everything has happened before; and every word you expect from the throne, is written somewhere in the Bible. Everything that we are going through has ever happened. Everything that you think of has happened before. So if this is the case, the Creator of heaven and earth is the ultimate solution to every problem and the answer to every question under the sun.

God Our Refuge
Psalm 46:1a (NIV)
“God is our refuge…..”
I asked God about the current situation of the lock down; I told Him, the president was going to speak, what happens next? God told me, my child, Psalm 46The Bible says that God is our refuge in times of trouble and for that case, we will fear not and we shall not be shaken.
The devil is always looking for someone to devour; there are so many things running after us and so we run to Jesus to seek refuge, and when we get to Jesus, He welcomes us with open arms and promises to protect us. When you present your issues before God and surrender your worries and burdens unto Him, He will invite you to dwell with Him and also unburden you.
In the same way, with all the problems in the country and the world at large, our refuge is in God because when we run to Him, we are assured of protection – God is our fortress (Psalm 46:7). The Bible says in Psalm 125:2 (NIV) that; “As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people both now and forevermore.”
In this time when people are puzzled and scared about the recurring calamities and pandemic, just know that you are special; God is going to protect you. He is your refuge in a torn and insecure world. 
Christians are like a grasshopper in a glass bottle; when a hen tries to peck it, there is an impenetrable barrier - the glass, and so the hen ends up hurting itself. The grasshopper is safe in the bottle as long as it does not focus on the hen. Imagine you are the grasshopper, don’t look at the hen; don’t consider or focus on the virus even if it gets to the neighbourhood; It shall not come near you (Psalm 91:7, Psalm 91:9-10)
I want to tell you that during this time trust in the Lord. He who spoke is faithful; He protected Israel and they went through the desert for forty years. They were sleeping in the wilderness and going through hardships but they did not fall sick because God was protecting them. He put His protection upon them. The God who protected them will also protect you. God knows you and you need to remind yourself about this. The calamities have always been around but they did not consume the believers. In the same way, let us believe that God is going to protect us. This storm means something, It wants us to understand God more and get a revelation of His word.

God is our refuge. Just as refugees are taken care of by the host country, we equally have a host country and that is heaven and it will supply all our needs this season. He dropped Manna from heaven and no one died of hunger. Today He will not send Manna but He will make a way out because His ways are higher than ours. He will take care of your burdens when you surrender them to Him; and when they ask, the answer is that God is your refuge. So don’t fear that you are out of work or that the children are back from school. 

God Our Strength
Psalm 46:1b (NIV)
“…….and strength, an ever-present help in trouble”
By the time we came to God, we were void of strength, we were weary, could not fight our enemies and do so many things but when we came to God, He took away our weaknesses and gave us His strength and grace. Apostle Paul always says that He is an apostle by the grace of God, (1 Corinthians 15:9-10) and that is why he is called an apostle of Grace because God revealed Himself to him.
It’s God’s strength that is going to fight our battles. We are what we are by the grace of God which has molded us. Without His grace we would not be born-again. There are a number of things that have attacked you but you have overcome them by the grace of God not your strength because it is very little.
Secondly, God is our shield. We hide in the Lord; He will be at the front-line of the coronavirus pandemic and any other climate calamity. We shall hide in Him as He smites our enemies and everything that is against us. So it does not matter if the world is trembling, for the Bible has said that we should fear not (Psalm 46:2).
People are worried about their survival during this season. I want you to remember that every problem elevates the standard. God wants your faith to be elevated. This seems like the desert and just like the Israelites were in the desert and there was only sand, God had a plan; He sent them Manna from heaven. Therefore, if the situation around you is not favourable, it’s a sign that God is going to provide if you trust and call upon Him. 
The Bible says that He who does not work, shall not eat (2 Thess 3:10) but people in the desert were not working. If it is God who has brought this situation, and has ushered you into the desert, then that same God is going to provide for you all your needs, deliver you and bring everything you were not expecting so that you can know that He is God (Philippians 4:19). Some of you think that God can only work up to some extent. I want to tell you that that’s not all He can do. You are going to see the power of God (Ephesians 3:20).
God has told us to trust in Him and take our eyes off the mountains. Get your eyes from the hen you grasshopper. Look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Stop looking at coronavirus pandemic, it just creates fear in you yet fear is not our portion – for we are governed by faith.

God the River
Psalm 46:4-5 (TLB) 
“There is a river of joy flowing through the city of our God—the sacred home of the God above all gods. 5 God himself is living in that city; therefore it stands unmoved despite the turmoil everywhere. He will not delay his help.
There is a river inside you - Holy Spirit (John 7:39); you are the city of God; you are God’s dwelling, and the streams of the river make glad the city of God. Jesus said in John 7:38 (ESV) that; 
“Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” 
Jesus does not just have what our souls need, but He is what our souls need in this time and always. He is the bread of life and the living water (John 6:35). We need to focus unto God, trust Him and listen to what He is saying in this trying time when the entire world is on tension. When the situation is upside-down and everyone is giving all sorts of advice, focus on God’s report and His truth - for He is our strength, our refuge; He will unburden us and take care of us in a world that is torn apart by calamities. Even when a mountain like China is uprooted and all other G-20 countries are in chaos, God will be our strength and refuge.
Anytime from now, amazing things are going to happen. In these days, God is going to make those who know and trust Him do exploits (Daniel 11:32).  There are so many things you are going to do because God is your strength, refuge and by His grace we shall overcome.

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