- Well, for many Americans

2020 has been a frustratingyear, to put it mildly.

Well, if you've felt weighed down

by the deluge of bad news, don't fret.

Pastor Samuel Rodriguez says that

not only can we survivethese troubling times,

we can thrive right in the midst of them.

- [Narrator] The global COVID-19 pandemic

spread like wildfire,devastating families, finances,

health, and personal security.

Pastor and author Samuel Rodriguez

is a voice of assurancein the midst of chaos,

reminding us that God isin control of COVID-19.

In his latest book,"From Survive to Thrive,"

Pastor Rodriguez providesthe spiritual prescription

for the emotional pain andchallenges of the pandemic

and he encourages usto reach out to others

with hope and acts of kindness.

- Joining us now via Skype

is our friend, Pastor Samuel Rodriguez.

Welcome back to "The 700 Club."

- Thank you for having me.

- Well, you stress the necessity

of adopting a God's-eye view

towards this pandemic situation.

What does that look like?

- Yeah, without a doubt.

We have options here.

It's how, our response.

Life happens.

Pandemics, social unrest,political discord.

Life happens.

It's up to us of how wereact and how we respond

to the issues that come our way,

be it coming from life,

be it coming via the conduit of the enemy

attempting to deter, obstruct,

or hinder our God-ordained purposes.

What do we do?

Every single person rightnow in your audience,

every single person watching this program,

can fall into one of thethree respective categories.

Every single person is either failing,

surviving, or thriving.

Every single person.

Even in the midst ofthis COVID-19 pandemic,

you're either in a failure mode,

a survival mode, or a thriving mode.

Let me use a biblicalnarrative as a metaphor.

Every single person is either in Egypt,

the desert, or the promised land.

And what do we do?

I have no qualms in believing that not...

The vast majority of peopledo not die in failure.

The vast majority of peopledie in the desert of life.

They die in survival mode.

They can't get overthe hump into thriving.

What is thriving?

John 10:10.

Jesus was explicit.

"The enemy came to rob, kill, and destroy,

but I came to give youlife and life abundantly."

That's a thriving life.

Let me give me one more thing

about surviving and thriving

in order to give you a comparison.

Survivors pray like this, "Lord bless me."

Thrivers pray, "Lord, make me a blessing."

It's time to remove the lid of fear,

anxiety, angst, consternation,

and start thriving in the name of Jesus.

- Amen. That's such a good word.

All right, so you talk abouthope also being so important

to getting us from out of that desert

into the thriving mode.

Why is hope so important?

- Oh, hope is very important.

It's about vision.

It's about looking forward,

understanding that yournow is not your next,

understanding that thisis a temporary season,

not your permanent, but withthe full cognitive bandwidth

and the spiritual acuityto embrace the fact

that the God of the processis the God of the outcome.

The God that is with you in the desert,

providing manna and water from a rock,

is the same God that is telling you,

"Do not become accustomed in perpetuity

to the manna and the water

because there's milk and honey

waiting for you on the other side."

That's hope,

hope that tomorrow willbe greater than today,

hope that your entirefamily will be saved,

hope that you will behealed in the name of Jesus,

hope that the latter glory willbe greater than the former.

- And Pastor, one thing you stress,

and this was kind of interesting,

is humility in your book,"From Survive to Thrive."

Why is humility and beinghumble so critical right now?

- I speak about the seven Hs,

the biblical prescription,

everything biblicallysubstantiated and Christ-centered,

on how to go from surviving to thriving.

And it's live a holy, healed,

healthy, happy, humble,hungry, honoring life.

Let me repeat that.

Live a holy, healed,

healthy, happy, humble,hungry, honoring life.

And humility is an integral part.

Gratitude feeds humility.

Let me repeat that.

Gratitude feeds humility.

If you wake up every day

instead of looking at what you don't have,

but giving God thanks, thanksgiving,

being grateful for what you do have,

that gratitude will feedbiblically substantiated humility.

And don't forget, it's the Lord

who brings down thosethat are full of pride

but He exalts those that are humble.

- Yeah.

And you know, it's notjust COVID and the pandemic

that's had everybody sort of down lately.

A lot of people kinda depressed

over this election situation right now.

What's your advice to them?

- Let not your heart be troubled.

There is a sovereign,holy, mighty, triumphant,

amazing God who seesabsolutely everything.

That God is the God ofrighteousness and justice,

truth and love, Psalm 89:14.

And you will see,

not everything coming out ofthis election was negative.

A matter of fact, I wouldargue much of it was positive,

with the exception of whattook place, in my opinion,

at the executive branch level.

With that being said, you'reabout to see an awakening,

an awakening in Americaand around the world,

that will unleash a revival,

that will unleash cultural reformation,

producing the greatestharvest in Christendom.

Get ready for that.

God's not done with us yet.

- Amen.

And I need to ask you this.

Why do you think, this time around,

so many Hispanics voted for Donald Trump?

- Oh, it's simple.

I love it.

And what do I mean?

I'm excited about theHispanic community coming up

and just coming out of the winepress

where we were threshingwheat just like Gideon.

And we're ready to do this.

We're ready to bring downthe false altars of Baal.

Let me explain.

We voted life, religious liberty,

biblical justice, and no to socialism.

And it's not just a one-time thing.

America's Hispanic community just emerged

as America's vaccine againstthe virus of socialism.

Get ready.

The best is yet to come.

- Wow.

I love that quote.

That is amazing.

Well, Pastor Rodriguez,

we always love having you on the show.

You are so inspiring.

And you can hear more fromPastor Samuel Rodriguez

by checking out his new book.

It's called "From Survive to Thrive"

and it's available nationwide.

Pastor Rodriguez, God bless you.

- God bless you.