It\u2019s in almost every conversation. We can\u2019t help it. The effects of the coronavirus are certainly beyond any plague or disease pandemic that I have seen or heard of in my life. I mean \u2013 a pandemic that is causing businesses to send their people home to work virtually; causing schools to shut down and children being homeschooled; causing families to store up extra food and supplies \u2013 just in case. In fact, in my own world, a group of 38 women are having to meet through teleconferencing. It is affecting almost every business and industry. At the hospital where I volunteer, they\u2019ve suspended volunteering until this crisis is over. In my morning text to my kids, I apprised them that the news says \u201cthe elderly (70 and above) should be checked on regularly to be sure we\u2019re okay\u201d. My reply to that is \u201cWatch me defy the odds\u201d. I have no fear. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This pandemic is nothing to make jokes about. People are alarmed and are filled with anxiety. Again, I look at scripture that shows us how to deal with the fear of impending danger. This is the perfect time for us to refresh our memory on how Scripture navigates perils, plagues and pandemics. My mind rushes back to serving at Vacation Bible School last summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The whole theme was around the exodus of God\u2019s people from Egypt. But before the exodus, ten plagues were inflicted on Egypt by God to force wicked Pharaoh to let His people, the Israelites, go and be freed from slavery. I loved watching the VBS children acting out the various plagues. God answered Pharaoh\u2019s taunts by saying \u201cThe Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord.\u201d (Exodus 7:5) Eventually, the Israelites were released and started walking towards the Red Sea. If you saw \u201cThe Ten Commandments\u201d movie, the scene that stands out the most is Charlton Heston as Moses, lifting his rod over the waters commanding them to open up. And open up, they did, enabling millions of Israelites to cross over on dry land \u2013 but closing up over the Egyptians and killing them all. God provided a way of escape. And He has a way of escape in mind for us in this crisis \u2013 those who are professed children of God who know Christ as our Lord and Savior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What we can easily miss are the details of this story. What is it like to pack up everything you own \u2013 your children, your possessions, your livestock to go to an unknown land? What\u2019s it like to wonder if you might lose it all? Sounds like a good parallel to this virus that is seeping across the world and has reached our shores, and we don\u2019t know how treacherous it\u2019s going to be. God is calling us to continue marching forward with a diligence of conquering and overcoming while being very health-smart \u2013 following all the rules of washing our hands and staying away from crowds as much as possible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Waiting well in the face of our anxiety about a coming danger means taking seriously the reality of the danger. Our God takes our lives and our sufferings very seriously, and \u201cHe does not willingly bring affliction or grief to anyone\u201d because He cares for us and for the things we care for and He shows compassion \u2013 so great is His unfailing love (Lamentations 3:32-33).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the midst of the clamor, may we pour out our anxieties to our Father in Heaven. May we not allow our hearts to panic over school closings, travel plans, economic downturns, or the potentially infected surfaces we\u2019ve touched! When we are afraid, we turn to Him. We cast our anxieties on Him, because He cares for us. In fact, we can allow handwashing or rubbing on hand sanitizer to become a moment we consciously entrust ourselves and the future of everyone we care about into His hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So we do wash our hands, and do what is wise about working from home, or calling our doctor. But we don\u2019t let ourselves forget where our true safety lies. We don\u2019t know what tomorrow will bring, but we do know the One Who parts raging seas and blocks its flow with His blood-soaked cross! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
John 14:27 \u201cPeace I leave with you;my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.\u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Thank you, CCEF — Christian Counseling Educational Foundation for some of your excerpts included in this blog.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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