Many of us may feel like we’ve been in exile this year. We may have thought we’d be in a better place by October 2020, just like the children of Israel who felt discouraged in this scripture. Psalm 85 was likely written after the Israelites returned from exile back to Jerusalem after 70 years. They thought that they could return to a pre-exilic state, but there was no going back. Nothing was going to be normal. Similar to the Israelites, we too may be facing disappointment.

Ephesians 6 tells us to be spiritually strong and put on the full armor of God because our struggle is against the authorities of darkness and not of this world. If we are to be victorious, we have to put on this armor. In Ephesians 6, Paul provides wisdom about how we can be spiritually strong.

If we can stay together and stay committed to the faith and to our spiritual practices, then what the enemy has meant for evil, God will turn around for good. We can come out on the other side of this pandemic, this trial, this year, spiritually strong. There is nothing our God can’t do. Let’s be spiritually strong and do what God has asked us to do: let’s walk in obedience, speak words of faith and stay in a place where our hearts are drawing near to God, then we will become spiritually strong.

We never asked for a difficult season, a pandemic, political turmoil, or racial issues, but, when these things happen, Jesus wants us to do more than survive; we need a season “surthrival” guide.