I don’t think there is a person on this planet over the age of 5 who has not heard of there Coronavirus, otherwise known as Covid19. It has become the main subject of every Instagram post, every WhatsApp message , every email and every conversation.
Affection has been removed from relationships , half faces hidden behind masks stare at me and mass hysteria has ensured that grocery stores are empty or quickly running out of basic items such as toilet paper.
As I look at the scenes of panic and doom around me that resemble a Hollywood movie about the Apocolypse, I have to ask myself if the world has gone mad or if I am missing something!
In the midst of this very dark and impenetrable cloud hovering over the earth, the words and promises of God shine like a chasm of light breaking through the horror of Corona and offering another perspective – that of the knowledge of the Creator.
It is easy to think that God is gobsmacked, horrified, dumbfounded or even surprised at what is being considered the pandemic of the century. We are all of those things and more . But God ? I don’t think that it has even crossed His mind to worry about something that He always knew would come, that He knows the end from the beginning of and that He is Lord over .
As an army trains for battle with very well thought out exercises and great planning, we need to train our minds to overcome the fear and anxiety that is being given way too much airtime in our world.
When you get new glasses they are sometimes a strain on the eyes . Over time they become the only thing that helps us to see clearly and after a few days they feel like an extended part of our own face. We see clearly because we discipline ourselves to wear them . When we train our minds to focus on Gods promises, they soon become the filter through which we view the words and messages echoing around us . It’s all about discipline and planning to achieve the outcome we want.
If I focus on Him, I will read and hear what He says over the voices that tell me that I am going to be swallowed up by Corona, businesses will all go bankrupt and the world will end with this disease. I am not being ignorant but rather choosing not to dwell in fear and negativity.
Covid19 is real. It has spread rapidly and it is wise to take precautions. Those are all facts. What is a lie however it that this is the end, that complete isolation and terror is the way to live and the biggest lie of all – God sent this to punish us and to combat
over-population .
I’m sure that if you have any knowledge of the Bible you will know the story of Peter being called by Jesus to walk on the water. He got out of the boat with confidence in his Lord. Once his feet were wet , he made the mistake of looking down at the rough waters or at his circumstances . The waters were raging , he was outside of the boat and the waves were capable of swallowing him up. In other words, he was screwed!
His mistake was to change his stance from the trusting follower of Jesus to a crazy person trying to walk on water! His focus changed and as they did, he began to sink.
Your focus today may be the devastating economic situation, the hopelessness of a virus sweeping across the earth with no known cure or even the lack of toilet paper in your bathroom.
What if you began a spiritual Bootcamp and started to train your hands and eyes for this battle ? Decide today to be INTENTIONAL about what you listen to and believe. There are a lot of opinions out there – let Gods word be the overwhelming authority on the subject of the Corona virus . Search for truth and then use it as a shield to cover your ears and your heart.
Yesterday I was at the airport and I saw a guy with a mask on and over that he was wearing a
see-through welding mask. I thought that was an excellent analogy of how we can use worldly wisdom covered by Godly wisdom !
So today – put on the mask if you feel the need to , but cover it with the wisdom and knowledge of God. What have you got to lose?
The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.
Proverbs 18:10
The LORD will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
Psalm 121:7-8
This world’s wisdom is foolishness to God. As it’s written, He catches the wise in their cleverness.
1 Corinthians 3:19
You have enclosed me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me.
Psalm 139:5
I will bring the blind by a way that they don’t know; in paths that they don’t know will I lead them; I will make darkness light before them, and crooked places straight. These things will I do, and I will not forsake them.
Isaiah 42:16
I will find my rest in God alone. He is the One who gives me hope.
Psalm 62:5
In hard times, they’ll hold their heads high; when the shelves are bare, they’ll be full.
Psalm 37:19