COVID-19

The world has changed drastically in the last two weeks. The coronavirus, COVID-19, has affected everything. The economy, tourism, business, church services, stock market, sporting events – the list goes on and on. March Madness is now March Sadness! My 401K is now a 201K and approaching a 101K!

How do we live in such a day as this? While the world has changed, many things haven’t changed. Here are four things that haven’t changed that can help us address the situation today!

1. Pick faith over fear! It’s your choice. Fear paralyzes. It distorts our thinking. Fear is real. Fear may be in our circumstances, but it must never get into our minds and hearts. The Bible says 365 times that we should not have fear! Faith always wins over fear! Cameron Brundidge is a first-grader. Her younger brother is autistic. Hearing all the bad news on television about COVID-19, he was getting very upset. Cameron said, “Look into my eyes and repeat after me, God –  did not – give me – a spirit of fear – but power – love – and a sound mind.” (II Tim. 1:7) It calmed him. Here is your assignment for 7 days: Look in the mirror and repeat that verse to yourself every morning. Ask someone to look you in the eye and repeat that verse together.
2. Pray bodaciously! The President made Sunday, March 15^th a National Day of Prayer. Let’s make every day a world day of prayer! Pray for our leaders who are making important decisions. Pray for people who are working on a vaccine. Pray for all people connected to our healthcare. Every time you start to criticize or complain, stop and pray instead. Pray that this unprecedented season of life might set a new precedent for determining values and making Godly choices. Pray that we will be open to how God wants to use us to use this occasion to bring people to Him. Could this moment in history initiate the revival in our world that so many Christians are praying for? God’s grace is more contagious and can become widespread more rapidly than any coronavirus!!
3. Practice best practices! Experts are telling us what we need to do. It’s imperative that we follow these important instructions from our health authorities. Dr. Anthony Fauci, on the President’s task force, says realistically that the virus spread will initially get worse. But he says confidently that how bad it will be in the coming days ahead is determined by what we are willing to do today to stop COVID-19 spread. Today’s response will determine tomorrow’s severity! Let’s stop it now! Practicing best practices is for our own good, but it’s also for the good of other people. Failing to follow the guidelines might not affect us but could affect other people. Many people are more vulnerable than others. It’s a time to be concerned about each other! “Don’t be selfish…with humility regard one another as more important than yourself.” (Phil 2:3)
4. Prioritize your thinking! God is in charge. He has been here before. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.” (Prov. 3:5) David affirmed that God had delivered him from the lion and the bear and now anticipated his deliverance from the hand of this Philistine. (1 Samuel 17:37) God is still in the delivery business!

The unchanging can change the impact of the changing!