Hebrews 4: 16 NKJV
I've talked to quite a few people recently who are understandably shaken by the current events unfolding before us. The other day, California governor Gavin Newsome issued a statewide "shelter in place" order in a attempt to halt the spread of the COVID-19 virus. For her part, Oregon governor Kate Brown has said there are no plans for a similar order here in Oregon...yet. Stores are hit and miss for buying essential needs. Local restaurants are open only for to go orders. Many people are indeed panicked over these events. I get it. In my lifetime, I have never seen times such as this. I've experienced trials of my own, as many of us have, but I've never seen something like this on a national scale. I can understand the panic, every day the news fills us with stories of just how far this virus has spread. We are indeed in challenging times. If I were to offer advice to someone, I would simply say that we will overcome. Our history is filled with stories of how ordinary people who, when faced with difficulty, managed to succeed anyway. The other day I read the story of a young girl who was lost on the Clackamas River trail while hiking. I've hiked this trail, it's not for the faint hearted. However, due to the efforts of two Clackamas county deputies, the girl was located and led to safety. I can only imagine the panic she must have dealt with. Unfortunately, times like these do not come with a manual to guide us through. That we have to do on our own, or so we thought. The apostle Paul voices our assurance in Hebrews as he tells us to "come boldly to the throne of grace" in our times of need {Hebrews 4:16}. One thing we can count on, is that when our world seems to be falling apart around us, God is ever present. In times like these, I refuse to buy into the institutional church thinking that God is somehow punishing us for our sins. Remember, Christ has already dealt with that sin issue {Romans 6: 6-11}. The belief that God is somehow separated from us is, for lack of a better word, crap. It is Paul once again who assures us that this is simply not true. Paul understood that he, his own nature, was dead and gone. What remains now is Christ Jesus who is in us {Galatians 2:20}. Good times or bad, Jesus remains.
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
2 Timothy 1: 7 NKJV
Understandably, one of our first reactions to any kind of crisis is that of fear. We are afraid of the unknown. We have a fear of that which might harm us. But, is this who we really are? Is this the spirit that God has created us to exhibit? I would say no. Knowing that it is Christ who is in me, fear doesn't seem to find a foothold. We were not created to exhibit a spirit of fear, but of the power, love and sound mind of Christ Jesus who is in us. When we finally come to grips with this reality, we began to question why we are afraid. I have a huge fear of heights, almost debilitating at times. However, it was on a hiking trip with a friend who still chooses to remain nameless a few years ago where I was faced with the truth of my own fears. The heights could never kill me. If my body shell ceases to exist, does Jesus die? Certainly not! If Christ is in you, and a virus takes your flesh body, does Jesus die also? Can you see where I'm headed with this? Our bodies, simple vessels for the indwelling Spirit of Jesus, are only temporary. If we believe that we will be with Him for eternity, then why do we fear that which cannot take that away from us? Can a virus take away our future with Jesus? No. However, like I said, we always fear the unknown. I truly believe that God uses times such as these for His purpose. Our question should not be why is this happening. A better question would be, what are You showing me?
~Scott~
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