Drowning in Fear
“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?” Matthew 6:25-34
You know this verse, you’ve probably taught this verse, but can you just take a moment to sit in the peace and promise it offers. Our world has gone crazy in just a few short days, my social media feeds and email are overflowing with worry, frustration, and fear. But the truth is right there, always has been, all the fear and frustration will not change a thing. All the anger will not make this virus go away. Hoarding supplies may satisfy a momentary fear, but will not sustain anyone in the long run. The truth, the knowledge, that my God is still on the throne, is the only thing that will silence the voices of panic the enemy is screaming loudly in my ear.
A Hurting World
I don’t know what the next few days, weeks, months are going to look like. Today, my husband and I work from home, my kids are online doing school work (middle school, high school & college), my oldest goes to work at a church that is trying to figure out how to be an online voice to our students & families, my over 80 parents are staying home and safe, if a bit lonely. But there are others; friends and family who work in ski resorts that have already lost their jobs; who own small businesses that are figuring out how to stay open; who work hourly jobs that are losing work hours; and those who work in grocery stores or medical fields and are working more hours than ever and putting themselves at risk daily. None of us are unaffected, and we have to be in this together. Our world will default into “I have to take care of myself” mode, but this has never been Jesus’ example and call to us.
Your Call to Rescue
Prepare, take care of your family, and then look around you. Who needs your help, your compassion, your kindness? Who desperately needs your hope? Are your words and actions aligned with someone who believes that their God is bigger than every challenge and circumstance?
35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:35 (NIV)
This is that moment. Truly every day is that moment, but if you have a hard time seeing it some days, let me assure you, you can see it now. The world is panicking, the world is scared, the world is hoarding, the world is trying to control its loss of control, but make no mistake, they are watching.
What will your neighbors, friends, family, and coworkers think of you and more importantly your God when this is over?