No Deadly Thing - Faith’s Response

Today I am going to dare engage in a very controversial topic that is affecting just about everyone on the planet today. It is a subject that has many people, including some Christians, in confusion, fear, and opposition. My goal is not to take sides but to present balanced teaching from God’s word that may help you see things a little more clearly and to think outside the box of prevailing opinions.

We can hardly turn on a media device today without being bombarded with someone’s opinion about Covid and the vaccination plan. These opinions are being presented forcefully, often involving manipulation and shaming from all sides. I am sure you have heard it all from mask-wearing, lock-downs, vaccinations, and the virus itself. No one has been unaffected.

I want to begin with a humorous story about the day my employer said I had to get a covid test. Up until that time I had been relatively unaffected by all of this, except for all the strong opinions being thrown at me. When I was first told I will admit that I panicked because I had inner nostril damage from the cancer treatments. I did not want anything inserted in my nose. I thought, how do I get out of this? Do I play the cancer card, the anxiety card? This was a real temptation. While pondering this I felt God saying to me in my spirit, “Hey there giant slayer, after everything you have been through, are you going to let a Q-tip take you down?” Wow! I pulled myself together and decided to face my fear.

Sometimes you have to preach to yourself and remind yourself of what you believe. I write about overcoming so I needed to step into my big girl pants once again. Sure enough, as always, God came through for me. They had an alternative test for people with nose issues. I left there with another notch on my victory belt and more confident in who I believed.

This experience got me thinking and praying about all the hype, turmoil and obscuring surrounding Covid. What was Covid to me as a child of God? Just like the test, it is a big nothing. I believe God’s word, as I am sure you do, that by Jesus' stripes we are healed (I Peter 2:24). We believe Mark 16:18 that says that if we ingest any deadly thing it will not harm us. We know we are not to fear anything the enemy tries to do and I make a stand that this virus is no different than any other weapon the enemy may throw at us. It is being served up on several different platters but essentially the same old MO of stealing, killing, and destroying. There is nothing new under the sun.

Whether or not this is from the devil is not the issue. He will use it even if he did not create it. This has been quite an opportunity for him. Just think about what all this crusading, for whatever side, is doing to us. On one side, If you wear a mask you are labeled as not trusting God and fearful. On the other, if you do not wear a mask you are called selfish and uncaring. If you do not fully believe in or participate in the lockdowns then you are disobedient to authority and are part of the problem. If you do obey the lockdown rule you are accused of cowering in fear and giving in to the enemy. Some are even promoting that the lockdowns are the government trying to control us and shut down the churches.

As for the vaccinations, some say they are the answer to all our problems and if you do not take them, you are anti-science, a rebel, and irresponsible. On the other hand, you have some shouting that they are a plot to imbed future disease in us. The strongest opinion I have heard is that these vaccinations are a precursor to the mark of the beast. If you step back and think about this you will see that the enemy will have a heyday with all this controversy and division. As I said previously, I am not writing this to take sides but to present another way to look at it.

Let’s consider the extreme for a moment. If this is a plot of the devil to shut down the churches and kill us all then I ask you, what else is new? He has been trying to do this since he first fell. He will lie to you no matter what your position to get you into fear, arrogance, stubbornness, or apathy. He does not care as long as he can get you crossways to God’s word. If some are so convinced that this vaccine will harm them that they quit their job and go into hiding who will benefit? If all Christians did that, would we be a victorious Church going into all the world and preaching the Gospel? Would we be ministering to those we are called to serve? Would we be a light? How could we? I think this is just what the enemy wants. I have heard the opinion that there is a ‘chip’ in the vaccines that will activate in the future. To that, I remind you that we already have a download placed inside us-- He is called the Holy Spirit. There isn’t a chip in existence that can stop His power in you.

He will try and convince those people to stand their ground – “You know your rights!” -- then to the fearful or weak, he will lie after they take it. “Oh, you’ve done it now, God is angry with you for your lack of faith”. We all need to examine what we are thinking and how it lines up with God’s word. Why do we stand on the position we take? Who are we listening to? Does our position put us contrary to any of the basic teachings of Jesus?

Let’s take a look at what the Bible says about dealing with the devil.

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. Revelation 12:11

And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak. II Corinthians 4:13

And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written…” Luke4:8

I see a lot about speaking God’s word. I see nothing about overcoming by going to freedom marches, blasting people with your opinions on social media, or spreading warnings of fear. Jesus never did this. I have observed that what this kind of behavior shows is how much we are impressed by what the devil is doing. He has our full attention – and he loves it.

Let’s take a look at God’s position in Psalm 2 on all the madness and plotting on this earth. I like it in the Passion Translation.

How dare the nations plan a rebellion. Their foolish plots are futile. (vs 1)

God-Enthroned merely laughs at them; the Sovereign One mocks their madness! (vs4)

The word in the original is derision which means to run them around in circles. God is not surprised or worried by any of this and we need not be either. Our position is to be seated with Christ in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6). Since He sits in the heavens and laughs, we can as well. Continue to verse 7 in Ephesians 2 and you will read about the grace and kindness God will shower upon us in the ages to come. That is now my friends. Do we really think this particular plot is so big and powerful that we are in danger? Do we think God will suddenly allow his people to become prey to the enemy? No, He will not!

There is a reason God gave us Luke 10:19 and Mark 16:18. It is because we have authority over everything the enemy tries and NOTHING can harm us. These scriptures alone give me the confidence to stare into the face of the enemy and say, “Is that all you got”?

Now you understand that I have imparted to you my authority to trample over his kingdom. You will trample upon every demon before you and overcome every power Satan possesses. Absolutely nothing will harm you as you walk in this authority. TPT

 They will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them.

The enemy operates in fear and we see this all around us today. I can understand some in the world being in fear because they have not seen anything like this. They have little to put their hope in. That is not us. I am one who has never put any stock in vaccines or drugs but after dealing with stage four cancer I have learned to appreciate the advances in science and medicine. My Cancer team took very good care of me and I am grateful for their expertise. I did not have any condemnation for working within their system. God did not tell me not to.

When faced with this vaccine, I had to make a similar decision as I did with the cancer drugs. I had to decide what would bring me and my family peace. I wanted peace in my home, peace at my work, and peace in my ministry. Peace is always our guiding force. Hebrews 12:14 says to pursue peace with all men. I knew that if I did not take this, I would be at odds with my husband and my employer. I would also not be able to travel, speak, and minister as I have been called to. I would be shut down. After praying about it I decided this was just a big nothing and spoke God’s word over it. I took the scripture Matthew 15:16 that says what goes into you does not defile you, it just comes out the other end. I said, “Father, I declare that whatever is harmful in this injection will just go through my body and come out the other end. No harm or side effects will come to me, in Jesus' name”. I took it in faith and that is exactly what happened.

Whatever you decide, make sure you are truly hearing from God and you are at peace without your heart condemning you. If you wear a mask, wear it as unto the Lord. If you do not wear one, do not wear it as unto the Lord. If you get a vaccination, take it as unto the Lord. If you do not take it, then do not take it as unto the Lord. Keep your peace. We all live as unto the Lord and we do not judge our brother. Please read Romans 14:1-10 for a great reminder of our opinions on things.

Fear and condemnation are the real enemies. We need to be aware of causing this in others with our stance. If someone listens to us and their actions cause their heart to be condemned, have we helped our brother? Quite the contrary. My pastor often uses the phrase, “Live your own convictions, preach the Word”. I agree wholeheartedly. If you are concerned for someone, pray for them.

In conclusion, I want to remind you of where your power lies. You win your battles in the spirit realm. Don’t ever fight the devil on his turf. Take your battles to the heavenlies where you are seated with Christ. If you try to fight in the natural realm he will win every time. Don’t waste your time and energy beating the air, waving your battle sword, yelling, or arguing. Do not give the defeated enemy and his devices any of your attention. Go to that place in your spirit and speak out what God says. Give your voice, power, and attention to what God is doing. He is the one we are impressed with. He is the one who wins.

In Christ’s love, Marion Grace