“I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction, And He answered me.
“Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, And You heard my voice. For You cast me into the deep, Into the heart of the seas, And the floods surrounded me; All Your billows and Your waves passed over me. Then I said, ‘I have been cast out of Your sight; Yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.’" (Jonah 2:1-4)
My beloved Crosswind family, When was the last time you faced the unknown? Do you imagine navigating through unchartered precarious waters? Such was my experience with my prolonged fight with the coronavirus. My body felt stricken with the common flu but the virus seemed to persist forever. Not having this virus before left me wondering what the next big symptom would be and where the disease would take me. Amidst this great unknown, I only had the Lord as my bedrock of assurance that I will prevail. In fact, God did pull me through and I have overcome, Hallelujah! The prayer at the top of this letter is one said by Jonah inside the belly of the great fish. He was in a dark and unknown place. He was filled with uncertainty on when he will be back in the land of the living. Some Bible commentators even say Jonah was dying or may have even died inside the fish. In the face of the unknown, He called on the only One Who remains true and constant, the Lord God Almighty. He cried out: "yet I will look again toward Your holy temple (verse 4)". He then resolved to obey the Lord on the other side of the predicament when God finally delivered Him. In my last blog, I made a call to prayer and surrender to the Lord for our sins as well as the national sins of this country. We are facing perilous times ahead, we do not know what the country would look like after this election. One thing is certain, Our God and His promises remain faithful. He will hear us and intervene on this country's behalf if we humble ourselves in prayer before Him. Our earnest prayers can get us into the tipping point where we can be ushered into a new season of favor and blessing. God remains sovereign and no one can thwart His plans to advance His Kingdom. Let us just ask Him to give grace to this land, that godless elements will be pushed back and that the seeds of a great spiritual awakening will finally germinate to His glory! I have recorded a prayer found in this link. Please take a listen. God bless you all. I will see you soon! I will keep you informed on when we will resume our in-person services. The coronavirus has no power against the God Whom we serve.
Glory and honor to Jesus! Pastor Ramon
you’re in our prayers!