It's hard not to feel the heaviness, isn't it?
For months we've chafed under quarantine restrictions this Covid-19 pandemic pushed upon us.
We live by new rules, trying to protect against exposure to this frightening, ever-changing virus. We long for someone who can lay out what will come next, but it seems no one can.
Not even the multitude of Experts.
Once we thought that was a lot to deal with
Now many U.S. cities have become war zones. We've watched newscasts that showed the tragedy of human pain and resentment and lost dreams that boiled up and spewed out violence in so many cities. Perhaps we've witnessed it firsthand.
For many people the bigger crisis is worry over money--or lack of same. Jobs that may or may not be there when "all this" is over. And what about schools? Sports programs?
Some mourn the death or continuing isolation of one dearly loved.
What to do? Where to go with all this pain? Take it to our Best Friend.
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18 ESV
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Matthew ll:28-29 NIV
This touches us all
It hardly matters where we live. Fear wafts through the air we breathe and sleeps with us each night.
Our best antidote is to focus on who we are in Jesus. Remember what he said?
Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. John 14:1 ESV
Read those first two words again: LET not.
Jesus is telling us we have a choice. Don't fancy up the guest room in your mind to make room for fear. It cannot stay unless you allow it entrance.
One who came through the worst of times
Viktor Frankl spent 1942-1945 as a prisoner in four Nazi concentration camps, including Auschwitz. All his family died in those camps, including his pregnant wife.
Despair lurked everywhere, waiting for an opening. After awhile he decided yes, he lost everything, but the Nazis would never, could never get the last word because he still controlled his mind. In later years Frankl wrote this:
"Everything can be taken from a [person] but one thing: the last of the human freedoms--to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."
That quote comes from page 86 of his best-known book Man's Search for Meaning. When Dr. Frankl died in 1997, that book already had sold over ten million copies. It's still in print and has been translated into many languages.
How shall we live in this time of crisis?
Here we are in what seems one of the worst of times, but like Viktor Frankl, we are free to choose how we will respond.
- Will we live by faith
- Or will we live by fear?
In every situation and every time, how we answer that question will shape the rest of our life.
To live by faith in this crisis time does not mean we ignore all the guidelines and blithely assume God will watch over us anyhow.
Rather, we love and trust our gracious and merciful Lord and we treat other people as we want them to treat us. We follow Government guidelines because the Bible tells us to. (Remember Romans 13:1?)
We live by faith, knowing and believing that God is still in control, even when it seems everything is falling apart.
But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, "You are my God." My times are in your hand. Psalm 31:14-15a ESV
What are we to do with fear that still follows us around?
Post a guard at the door of your mind and shut out fear with the Truth.
For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. 2 Timothy 1:7 ESV
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 ESV
Human wisdom says that's too simple. Faith says that's how it works, even when progress seems slow.
Two steps forward and one step back is still one step forward. And so we grow.
Anytime fear seems to be winning call on the One who calmed the seas and ask him to still the storm in your heart.
And be patient with yourself. It takes time to lay down new track on the pathways of your mind.
Still learning,
Lenore
