The next few days will be very dark for America. Experts say we will see losses such as we have not seen since the Second World War.  As horrendous as that statement is, there is something else you must realize. You can’t dwell on the frightening images you will see on cable news. You can’t cave in to the hysteria of this coming week.  There is something extremely important you must take care of.

After you have taken every precaution necessary for remaining safe—after you have settled it in your soul to remain strong in the Lord, wholly trusting in Him, it will be time for you to fight back.

Everything in me tells me these are the most important days you will know in our lifetime. Waste them, and it will be the greatest regret of your life.

Turn your days at home into the most important breakthrough ever. Turn feelings of helplessness into fuel for an amazing outcome. These are days to let God do a shocking new work inside you.

It all begins with the story of Paul being arrested and put in prison. Satan put Paul in prison, intending to inflict massive damage on Christianity. He thought Paul could no longer win souls, and he could not teach the fledgling churches that desperately needed his Apostleship. In fact, he couldn’t do anything…except for one thing.

He began writing. And writing would be the most devastating thing Paul would ever do to Satan’s kingdom. If Paul hadn’t been confined, he might never have had the time to write.  How could he possibly imagine his writings would impact billions?  Paul ended up writing 60% of the New Testament. Selah.

Jailing Paul was the stupidest mistake Satan ever made, besides crucifying Christ. Now let me show you how to make this confinement in your home, his next major mistake.

1. Model faith to your children. Settle it in your soul that God will pay your bills, protect your job and restore what you have lost. Don’t speak fear and doubt in your home! The greatest lesson you will ever model for your children—and the greatest gift you will ever leave to them—is to confess that everything that has been lost will be restored. Because when this is over and God comes through—as you know He will—they will remember and apply these lessons in their lives, whenever they are threatened. The greatest thing your children can watch you do is trust in God.

2. Read the Bible. Dump all the questionable prophetic words and conspiracy theories. Some in the prophetic camp are losing credibility because they foolishly predicted this plague would leave suddenly. Some even set a date—one that will likely prove them wrong.  In the Old Testament such “prophets” would have been stoned. It is this lack of consequence in the prophetic camp that has wreaked havoc and left many unprepared for the storm that is upon us.

The same applies to conspiracies. How much clearer can the Bible be? Isaiah 8:12-13, “Do not say, ‘A conspiracy,’ concerning all that this people call a conspiracy, neither be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled. The Lord of Armies, Him you shall hallow; let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread.”

It’s all over the internet, and religious broadcasting: ‘There is a worldwide secret society! It’s the devil and his vessels! Nancy Pelosi cooked up coronavirus in a Chinese laboratory!’

Stop needing a “word from God” from people. Stop digging into controversy. In 2 Timothy 2:23 Paul warned, “Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels.”

Instead, read the Bible! Now that you have a lot of time, get the Word of God in you. That is the most powerful protection, and the best way to understand how to weather this storm.

3. Make a list of goals for this down-time, and work hard to meet those goals. Already, you see how many things have stolen your time.  You see how many things that previously cluttered your life, seem unimportant now. Because you are a child of God, nothing of yours that is vital will be stolen. Your job and your business will be brought back to life. Therefore, choose to see this as a kind of paid vacation. Paid by God.

It is a time to make overdue changes, and big and bold plans for the future. To do that, you must get to work. That means no binge-watching Netflix! It means you seek the heart of God and ask Him to show you the goals He wants you to accomplish. Write those goals out, and make the righteous choices that give those goals the very best chance of coming to pass.

Paul wrote much of the New Testament while he was in forced confinement. Great projects will be born—projects that may swallow up the wrong ones you had before.

Lastly make the most important goal list of all: the things you are never are never going back to.

4.Turn prayer into a habit. Inspiration will lead you to pray, but you must decide to form the habit that will keep you praying. The chilling fact is that if you do not pray during this pandemic, you will never pray at all. Let God deliver you from the greatest hindrances to prayer that I know of: impulse prayer and feeling-based prayer.

Right now, forget about how long you pray. Focus on praying each and every day. Behaviorists have shown that it takes doing something 35 times in a row, before it becomes a habit. If you create that habit, and deepen that habit, you will own life’s greatest skill.  James 5:16, “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”

5. Focus on personal repentance, not national repentance. You do it! Don’t wait for others, or even think about other people’s repentance. People have been babbling about national repentance as if it was something other people need to do. We don’t see national repentance happening yet, so don’t wait for it to happen. Repent on your own!

We do not even see widespread repentance among preachers. Have you heard many preachers on social media admit they’ve been wrong?  We are flooded with messages from preachers. But have you heard one major pastor or preacher repent or promise that they will run church differently than they did before? Do you see any preacher who isn’t just chomping at the bit to restart the same old thing? I promise you, unless deep repentance takes place, you will be shocked at how unchanged the American church will be, after all of this. Think about this: How much really changed after 9/11?

Remember, God is judging America as much because of the world, as because of the church.  The carnal church has left us open to this disaster. And yet, without repentance, we have zero reason to believe it won’t go back to exactly the way it was before. In other words, they will have learned nothing from the pandemic. They just don’t get it.

We pray that God will not force the issue of repentance by extending and deepening our national crisis, until America implodes completely. But you have to wonder how they can all say they want this to be over, and yet they still will not repent.

But, we must not set our hope on that. Our hope is founded on the knowledge that we must repent before God—and that is personal repentance. That will lead to the real miracle of mercy. You see, you can stand as a priest between the sins of America, the sins of the church, and God. That is true intercession. There is a righteous core of believers who can turn this plague away. (read Numbers chapter 16)

Remember, God said He would spare Sodom and Gomorrah if there were just 10 righteous people. We are not going to rebuke this away; we are going to repent it away. You have the power to stand between God and this virus.

We must give God what He is seeking. We can’t worry about how many others are interceding, even if there are only a few. The promises of the Lord are never vague! Neither are the conditions to His promises.

2 Chronicles 7:14, “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”