Encounter Christian Campus Ministry Daily Devotions 2020

April 27 by Ptr. Grant Amasi

1 Peter 3:9
James 3:1-12

I am too blessed to be stressed!

On March 16, 2020, President Rodrigo Duterte declared the entire Luzon area in the Philippines under "enhanced community quarantine" (ECQ), in response to the growing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the country. It's safe to say that the situation is not easy and probably overwhelming for most. It is noticeable that when people are overwhelmed by certain situations, we tend to forget the blessings or the positives in our life and focus more on the negatives. The past few weeks can testify to that.

James 3 perfectly illustrated how powerful our tongue is. And right now whether we like it or not, the social media is now an extension of our tongue. In this pandemic we have seen its power. Some people used it for good, like spreading positivity and hope. But some also used it to spread fear and fake news, to destroy other people's reputations. The stress that this disease and quarantine has brought drove some people to become impatient and careless in words and in actions

A month and a half has passed since the quarantine started, so far we have witnessed how most people reacted negatively to the situation. Some voiced out their frustrations, fears, and personal opinions about the situations on their social media.

Stress, when we let this stress rule over our lives we forget to see and appreciate the small things that come along. Do a little assessment on what happened to you these past few weeks. What were the blessings that you have received? Have you thanked God for all of them? Think about the conversations you had with other people. Were there times when you allowed stress to rule over you and let it influence your actions or words?

What i'm saying is, in this time of stress, it is better to use the power of tongue to encourage one another, to show gratitude and gratefulness as well as appreciate others. Don't let these things diminish just because we feel negative about something. This world is offering us so much evil, and the scripture says we should repay it with blessings.

Think about someone special in your life. Have you taken the time to tell them how special they are to you? Perhaps today should be that day. We go about our lives and sometimes get wrapped up in all the craziness around us. We forget to tell the ones that we love how important they are. How many times did we say the word "thank you" today? Have we ever thanked, encouraged and appreciated a frontliner since this thing started?

Compared to the rants and meaningless comments that we have uttered or posted online, I hope that we have more encouragements and appreciations for others. This world needs more of those today. Let's challenge ourselves today to repay every evil with blessings as the scripture say. Let's make the most of our words count. They are powerful.