Gov. Greg Abbott is reminding members of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano to keep their faith strong in hard times.

Speaking via video conference, the governor talked about his plans for “reopening” the state of Texas in phases. He also related how faith has helped him through personal crises and prepared him to lead the state.

Abbott said he understands that people are tired of having their daily lives limited by the coronavirus pandemic.

“One thing we know is that people really want to get engaged in the world again,” Abbott said in a taped interview with Prestonwood Pastor Jack Graham. “It could be going to church. It could be going to work. It could be going to play activities. Whatever the case may be, people are tired of being stuck at home.”

Abbott said Texas “wants to lead the way,” by safely reopening in phases. The first phase will take place in May, and details of the plan are expected to be announced on Monday, April 27.

The first priority, Abbott said, is health, safety and protecting lives. Secondly, state wants people to be able to continue earning a living.

“People have been going without paychecks; without money to pay rent,” Abbott said. “Our food banks are overflowing with people who desperately need food. That is a clear signal that the livelihoods of too many Texans have been compromised.”

People need to get back to work so they can earn a paycheck and take care of their family, he said.“And we need to open our churches, to allow you all to be able to congregate and celebrate once again,” Abbott said.

Graham noted that churches locally and across the nation are serving those in need by providing essentials, such as food and ministry.

“There’s so many people hurting mentally as well as physically and economically, and we’re addressing so many of those things,” he said.

Graham pledged that his church wants to cooperate with the state and be part of the solution. He also asked Abbott to share his testimony.

At age 26 in 1984, Abbott was a recent law school graduate when a tree cracked and fell on him while he was jogging, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down.

“You might imagine, when you face something like that, it tests your faith,” Abbott said. “You know, why would God allow something like this to happen? But very importantly, I found in the aftermath of that, as I continued to reach out to God, I found God reached right back out to me. And my relationship with God and Jesus Christ grew even closer after that accident. And it empowered me to go on and become the governor of the great state of Texas.”

Everyone has their own challenges and tests, he said.

“There is a solution,” Abbott said. “There is something you can lean on that will always be there for you. That’s Jesus Christ.”

Abbott also said that that in addition to following safety guidelines such as staying home, people of faith have prayed for relief from the pandemic. It appears those safety measures and prayers are working, he said.

“God never promises us a life free of storms,” Abbott said. “What God promised was a pathway through those storms. That’s what I’ve seen in my own life and that’s what I’m seeing in Texas.”