Yes, all around us there’s anxiety. Yes, concerns are legitimate. Yes, the market is down and meetings are being cancelled all around. Yes, even how we do church is being disrupted. Yes, there’s still a lot we don’t know. What we do know is that a spirit of panic is not necessary for the facing of these days. What we do know is that God has given us reason and skill. What we do know is that now is the time to encourage, care for, and pray for one another. Now is the time for taking necessary precautions. (How about each time you wash your hands you use that as prayer time!).
What is distinct about us is that we are in a relationship with a non-anxious, never sleeping God who begs us to cast our cares in his direction. This virus comes while the Church is observing Lent. So, rather than the giving up of chocolate and ice cream, maybe we can switch our discipline to practicing what it means to rest in God. The start of that practice for me always begins with a word from scripture. How about this: “…be calm, cool, and steady, accept and suffer unflinchingly every hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fully perform all the duties of your ministry.” Remember, beloved, we are not anxious like those who don’t know God. And we don’t go stoic or perform steadiness either. For us, God’s steadiness causes steadiness in us especially for the facing of these days.
God bless you.