What would you do if the water running to your house suddenly turned into blood, and you could only drink bottled water? How would you deal with a house full of frogs? More importantly, how would you deal with heaps of dead, rotting frogs everywhere you turned? On the roads, inside stores, at church? Everywhere you turned, all of the frogs that were previously hopping around causing chaos were now dead and stinking up the place. How bad would that be? If you think that’s bad, how about gnats all over the place? Getting into your face, crawling up your nose, in your eyes, all over your food. Annoying isn’t a strong enough word!

Now, imagine a world where you have to keep your distance from everyone. Not a bad idea for some people since some people don’t like people. However, now you’re having to separate yourself from friends, relatives, and potential friends. To make matters worse, you have to cover up your face since you could get a deadly disease if you’re too close. You can’t go out to church because it’s closed. Movie theaters, closed. The mall. All closed. Even your beloved karaoke is off-limits to you now!

Then one day, after what seems like an eternity, things start to open up again. You can go to the movies again, stroll along the mall and go to church! Forget public karaoke it may never come back. You find yourself starting to feel like a real person again when suddenly, things start to close again, or threaten to close, the dawn you saw was false. The long dark night continues.

When Moses and Aaron first went before Pharaoh in Exodus, there were three plagues God sent to the Egyptians to persuade Pharaoh to let His people go. The first was a plague of blood. In it, all of the water in the Nile turned to blood.

Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded. He raised his staff in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials and struck the water of the Nile, and all the water was changed into blood. The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water. Blood was everywhere in Egypt.

Exodus 7:20-21 (NIV)

The people were reduced to digging around the Nile to get drinking water.

And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile to get drinking water, because they could not drink the water of the river.

Exodus 7:24 (NIV)

Those who relied on freshwater from the Nile would have had big problems finding water to drink. Those who had stored water, not so much. Everyone would have to deal with the bloody Nile. I can’t imagine the stench that would come from such a thing.

After the plague of blood, there was a plague of frogs. The frogs were everywhere. Then they all died, and they were still everywhere. Only now they were rotting dead frogs. Finally, there was a plague of gnats. But wait, you might be thinking, God sent ten plagues to the Egyptians! Indeed, God did send ten plagues to the Egyptians. However, Hebrews were also living in Egypt at the same time. God didn’t distinguish between them and the Egyptians until He sent the fourth plague. The plague of flies.

“‘But on that day I will deal differently with the land of Goshen, where my people live; no swarms of flies will be there, so that you will know that I, the Lord, am in this land.'”

Exodus 8:22 (NIV)

The Bible doesn’t tell us how the Israelites were impacted by the plagues of blood, frogs, or gnats. However, we can deduce that they were impacted. How could they not?

Today we’re all dealing with the reality of COVID-19 in all of its variants. It struck me today when I was reading through Exodus that the Israelites had to suffer through three pretty lousy plagues before the Lord chose to separate them from the Egyptians. We’re going through some trying times today. I suspect few of us have been through such times before.

As Christians, we too, have been separated from the world. Certainly, there are Believers and non-believers alike who have died because of this plague. Our separation isn’t physical like it was with the people in the land of Goshen. We’ve been spiritually set apart, and we are the light of the world. We walk amongst the sick and dying, not from this plague, but a greater plague. We see the dead wherever we go. They’re impossible to miss. We work with them. We go to school with them. Some of them might have started coming to your church!

It might seem odd to you, but I’m thankful to be a Christian today. If all of this happened before I knew the Lord, I would have lost it a few months into the first lockdown. I have hope. Not in the end of the pandemic. Not in a vaccination. I’m hopeful for the end, and I’m hopeful for cures. However, the root of my hope lies in the author and maker of hope. God. Where does your hope lie?

Do you know God? God knows you, and He loves you. He sees you as significant because you are. No one is insignificant to Him. He’s with you today, right now, and He wants you to know Him. Jesus died for your sins and mine so we could be free of guilt, be freed from death, and live eternally with Him. Eternal salvation is just a prayer away.

Pray this prayer with me to accept the gift of salvation today:

Lord Jesus, forgive me for all my sins. I repent from my ways. Wash me in your blood and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. I believe that you died on the cross, were buried, and on the third day, God the Father raised you from the dead. Right now, Lord Jesus, I open the door to my heart, and I receive you into my heart as my Lord and personal Savior. Amen.

If you prayed that prayer, then congratulations! You are on the first step of a brand new life. Allow me to be the first to welcome you to my family, the family of God. There are abundant resources available online for new Christians. You can visit here for more information on what to do next. You can also leave me a comment, and I’ll do my best to help you on the next step of this incredible journey.

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