April 8, 2020
Recent COVID 19 updates, according to John Hopkins University, states that worldwide there are 1,447,466cases, 83,471 deaths, and 308,215 recovered. In the United States, there are 399,929 cases, 12,905 deaths and 22,539 recovered.
I am very interested in seeing how people respond to the pandemic. Here in Minnesota we are on a stay-at-home order until April 10, and my understanding is that most everyone is following the order. And all of this is subject to change. Here is one thing I know for sure; life has certainly changed.
It seems to me people are responding in two different ways. They are either responding out of fear or faith. Those responding out of fear are placing their hope in the government, doctors and researchers, or even themselves. Those who are placing their hope in God are praying, ministering to the sick and lonely, and wholeheartedly looking for ways to help.
Here are ways I see fear “helping” people: they have become hoarders of toilet paper, rice, flour, canned soup, disinfectant cleaner, rubbing alcohol and the list goes on from there. They blame others; democrats have blamed republicans and republicans blame democrats. Some blame the Chinese, some blame Evangelical Christians, and some blame the government for improper handling of the pandemic. The Chinese have blamed the American military. Even government leaders have added pet projects to the bill to deal with the pandemic, delaying its passage. Have mistakes been made? Probably. Were they made with the intent to harm others? I doubt it.
Those responding in faith are doing extraordinary things. They have set up emergency field hospitals in Italy and New York city including Samaritan’s Purse, part of the Billy Graham Evangelical Association, a Christian organization. The Church of the Highland in Birmingham Alabama has set up a testing site. The Salvation Army is caring for the physical needs of those affected by covid 19. Grace Church Eden Prairie has set up prayer teams to pray for the needs of those affected by covid 19 as have hundreds of other churches around the world. There are Christians worldwide who have gone to their knees and prayed for healing. In fact, I responded to a text asking me to join a prayer chain which could possibly reach over one-million people.
Do these responses surprise you? They did me. I am not sure why I should be surprised by fearful and selfish behavior. The Bible shows us what man’s behavior is like. Jesus said in Mark 10:18 and Luke 18:19, “’Why do you call me good?’ Jesus answered. ‘No one is good—except God alone.’” (ESV) So if people are not depending upon God in faith, their responses should be expected as part of the nature of man.
What surprising me more is seeing the fear among my faith-filled friends. There is a fear of death, loss of income, loss of savings, and running out of things. What about what Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:25-27,
“‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”’ (ESV)
I hope you will take the time right now, to turn to Jesus for your health and welfare. In Him you will find rest and peace resulting in hope.
If you do not know that you will be with Jesus then Read This
One final thought. I was greatly encouraged when someone shared Psalms 91:1-3 with me and I want to share it with you.
“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’
Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence.”
As I live in this unprecedented time, I am confident where my hope rests. It is in God alone and in the protection of His mighty hands. I am not saying that I won’t become sick with COVID 19, but if I do, I will trust God for the outcome. Of course, I will reach out to my faith-filled community to ask for prayers of healing. And if I live or die in the end, I will be with Jesus in heaven. It is faith in God that provides me with hope and not fear.
An audio version of my book Hope Amid Hopelessness is now available on Amazon and Westbow Press.
