Author and pastor Greg Laurie revealed Monday he has tested positive for COVID-19 and is doing OK, although he requested prayer and urged Americans to stop politicizing the pandemic.
Laurie, senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in California, said he tested positive on Friday and is quarantining.
“It started with some fatigue that I was feeling, some aches and pains, and a fever. And then I found out the news I didn’t want to find out – that I actually have the coronavirus. I’ve been doing okay actually,” Laurie said in a video he released.
“I just wish at a time like this we cannot politicize something like this and [that we] show compassion to people that are struggling with this. It’s real,” he said of the coronavirus. “It really is a pandemic that has swept our nation, and even the world. … If the president of the United States can get it, obviously, anybody can get it.”
With “God’s help” and with the prayers of the church, Laurie said he expects “to get through this.”
“Another couple of symptoms I’ve experienced is [that] things don’t taste right to me. So as a result, I’ve maybe lost two pounds – a little Romans 8:28 moment there. Another symptom I’ve experienced is boredom. … I want to get out again, doing what I’m called to do. So, thank you for your interest and your concern,” Laurie said.
“It’s important as Christians, for us to be reminded that God’s in control of our lives. And I don’t know why He allowed me to get it, but I got it. And I know He’ll get me through it, as He always has been faithful to me in the past. But ultimately, I also know my times are in His hands, and that when that moment comes for me to leave this world, I’ll leave, and I won’t leave a moment before and I won’t leave a moment after.
“And so with that confidence in Christ, and the hope that I have, and your prayers for my rapid recovery, I trust that I’ll come through this and be seeing you all in person soon,” Laurie concluded.
Olivia Nuzzi of New York Magazine reported that Laurie attended a Prayer March in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 26 and also attended President Trump’s announcement of Amy Coney Barrett as his Supreme Court nominee. Multiple people who attended the White House announcement, including Trump, have also tested positive.
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16,000 Accept Christ, 1.8 Million Watch Greg Laurie’s Virtual ‘Cinematic Crusade’
Photo courtesy: (C)Harvest
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
