Fear is everywhere right now. We are witnessing the rapid shut down of sporting events, colleges, and (in some places) large meetings. Have you ever lived in anything quite like this?
Hysteria and pandemonium feel right beyond the shadows. No one knows who to trust and what they should do next with food, money, and business.
Let’s have a conversation.
Intelligent fear is healthy
-
I know better than to cross a road blindfolded. Foolishness and presumption are NOT faith. God has set laws in motion which Satan, the “god of this world” (2 Cor. 4:4) has corrupted.
-
Sin, disease, bondage, depression, and a host of maladies are the result of Satan’s rule over earth. Jesus said, “Satan has bound this daughter of Abraham for eighteen long years” (Luke 13:16).
-
I must be aware of that and avoid the corrupted, polluted atmosphere of the earth wherever it crosses my path. I’m not stupid. I know that germs are real and how they travel.
Irrational fear is unhealthy
-
As long as I am doing my best to avoid contact with disease, demons, and disasters I have NOTHING to fear. After two hopeless weeks on a ship in a hurricane, Paul announced to the other 275 passengers: “Take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you…” (Acts 27:22).
-
People lose hope with fear. They picture the worst. They act irrationally to “survive.” We witnessed it the first morning of this century, in the weeks after 9/11, and in the 2008 recession. Fear does not change the situation, it only clouds your path forward.
Faith sees the rescue
-
Paul continued his discourse on the deck of the ship by saying, “Take heart, men, for I have faith in God. We must run aground on some island” (Acts 27: 25-26).
-
Anyone can see the fear. Only those with eyes of faith can see the finish. “It’s going to end. We will be rescued. God is with us and we will survive.” Now, you are thinking clearly.
Here are FIVE PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS:
-
Do what the health authorities are advocating: wash your hands, keep a healthy distance from others if possible, keep your immunity up with a R.E.D. ALERT: “rest, exercise, and diet.”
-
Cast down thoughts of death, doom, and end of the world. We are inconvenienced but not incapacitated.
-
Anchor yourself in God’s Word. I recommend you read Psalm 91 real slow every day until this storm is over.
-
Avoid hysteria from any source. The endless interviews, opinions, commentary, and reporting keep us filled with uncertainty, fear, and paranoia. Go about your life.
-
Don’t become self-centered, endlessly analyzing how you are feeling. Reach out to others in need, speak positivity to those you come in contact with.
I KNOW we are going to make it through this. The virus will be contained. We are praying for mercy to minimize the loss of precious life worldwide.
