From Rabbi Jonathan Bernis, President and CEO of Jewish Voice:
Dear Partners and Friends of Jewish Voice,
I trust all of you are doing well through this bizarre and challenging time. Although the quarantine period and social distancing measures will eventually come to an end (and soon I hope) the economic fallout will take far longer to recover from. But we will!
Did the Lord “cause” this to happen? I don’t think So. But it certainly is a wake-up call to us all. And at some point in the future, something like this will happen again....and most likely it will be worse. I can’t read my bible and ignore the scenario of chaos and upheaval that occurs in the days preceding the return of Messiah. It is my conviction we are living in those days now.
We need to learn and grow from this experience. God’s intent is always to turn even the worst trials and tribulations of life to good for those who love Him (see Romans 8:28). That means we derive greater long-term benefit for our lives as a result of the short-term suffering and adversity we endure. Through those terrible times when life brings us so low all we can do is look up, we enjoy some of the deepest times of fellowship with the Lord. Often, this realization becomes much clearer in hindsight.
He wants us to come out of this pandemic, home- quarantine with a renewed commitment to spend more time with Him and get our homes in order. My personal commitment is to come out of this better than I entered into it.
I’ve been challenged (once again) to prioritize prayer, time in his Word and just making more time to listen. We must be able to hear his voice if we are going to be led through what lies ahead. The ability to hear his voice is a pursuit and something we need to cultivate.
May the Lord do great things in your life today and through the remainder of this upheaval. Thank God, His Kingdom is stable and unshakable. He remains on the throne!
Blessings and love to you all.
Jonathan
