Why do we fear Corona Virus over other maladies that affect us? Why is this threat of illness and death any different than the wars we wage? The millions that died from the Holocaust? The thousands that die each year from infections like Clostridium Difficile and tuberculosis? Diseases like cancer?
If you have a sovereign God, then your timeline is not limited to this life on earth. And if your life is not limited to this earth, then you can more readily be able to step back and not give in to the fear and the hype. But also, if you have a sovereign God, then you also have a truth that supersedes all truth made from man. I am reminded:
“Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows” Luke 12:7
Empires come and go and it’s very telling when we step back and look at the politics of the moment in each of those empires. We know that there is a pandemic during each election cycle. Wars waged on our elections, our economies, our faith, our freedoms, our bank accounts, our children’s education and on and on.
When we see religious wars, I wonder, are we fighting for the Kingdom? Because let me remind you, we live in the Valley. We are fighting for the Kingdom, but what does the Bible say about the war we wage for the Kingdom? How much faith are we putting in our sovereign God when we play into the hype of this world regardless of what it is in regard to? Because we see this play out not only with our health but with things like whether or not our kids go to the best college, or college at all. We have become so desensitized to the absolute truth of the Gospel, that we have come to accept as normal the demands of living in our society as a whole.
Now, don’t get me wrong, even though I always repeat the statistic 1:1, I am still looking to maintain longevity in this life. I’d like to see my kids grow up and get married and have kids of their own. But that is not my goal in this life and if it doesn’t come to be, then it wasn’t meant to be. My ultimate goal is to spread the truth of God’s Word, and my first goal is to have longevity so that I can do that. And while I do that, I am navigating the daily beast of sin in my world. Today, that beast looks like Coronavirus, but the underlying beast is actually the hype and fear that are driving the beast. When we look at our lives as an eternity, then our greatest fear is that when we get to Heaven that our spouses, children, and friends won’t be there to share the Kingdom with us. Or that we won’t get to Heaven at all. That is what drives me every single day. My own salvation is wrapped up in my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. But what about my friends? My family? Am I really a good example to them of what God looks like? Of what the Gospel looks like? Of what it’s like to fight for the Kingdom? Because most days it may not even look like I’m fighting off my sin. And I let that sink in. That plank of wood out of my own eye can really catch me at the end of the day worrying about who I am portraying in Christ. And that should cause me fear. Not Coronavirus
Psalm 91
Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the LORD, “he is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulnewss will be your shield and rampart.
You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
But it will not come near you.
You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
If you say, “the LORD is my refuge,”
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
“Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”
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