As I write this, the world is in upheaval. Africa experiences a plague of locusts, in Indonesia, the Krakatoa volcano erupts, countries the world over are wrestling with the virus Covid-19 and all the issues that come with it. And I would imagine there are many who, like me, are concerned about the seriousness not only of the virus, but also of the supply chain issues, economic impact, and the potential infringement of personal liberty as the world seeks to find the balance between safety and freedom.
As President Trump describes, we are at war with an unseen enemy; but I am afraid we are focused on the wrong enemy. While the world seeks to battle for stability, I have found that the bigger enemy I wrestle with is just now presenting itself and is a much more sinister enemy. This enemy weighs the heavy load of fear, uncertainty, and the unknown into our lives to force us into a corner so that he may pick at us internally. Why make a full frontal attack when you can eat away at the enemy from within?
The Enemy
I have found that amongst all the challenges the apostles faced, the battles that the heroes and faith-fathers of the Old Testament were pressed up against, the one common thread throughout all of these is God’s insistence that they do battle with the sin in their own lives. The sin that the enemy longs for us to embrace. Because while God seeks what is best for us, the enemy challenges us to settle for the marginally good if not simply the detestable dressed up as a shiny bauble we so ‘innocently’ enjoy. All this so that the rebellion would not seem so much as an outright coup of the king, as much as it would be an opportunity for us to ‘take care of ourselves’, ‘look out for number one’, or to simply ‘be prepared’.
I must admit, I have fallen victim to this enemy a number of times the past few weeks. One of my sisters has aptly put it that there are waves of faith and worry. Moments where I have been so overwhelmed with fear for my family members that I have shared a news article with them about something new happening in the world. Minutes, sometimes hours of fear about the world events, that I am unable to see anything else other than how to respond to the mounting threats to my family and myself.
The Truth’s I Need
But today is Easter. And I am reminded of the truth’s I need to hear, the truths I need to believe, in this time of need. As I sit on Easter Sunday, secluding myself from my family for some heart-searching, I am realizing the error my heart has made the past few weeks and the truths I’ve needed to remind myself of and am hoping that as I share them, that they may help you as well.
- I am not in control. Just as I cannot control Krakatoa, nor the virus that spreads so quickly, I cannot control what happens to the economy, to the weather, or the ground beneath my feet. I am subject to whatever God deems best for me.
- There are worse things than Covid-19 and death. Hate, selfishness, and God’s wrath. We call them heroes those who are willing to set aside selfishness to serve others. We rightfully detest bigotry, racism, and sexism and hold up as examples those who fight against such hate. And in the end, God’s wrath against the rebellious condemns those who refuse to accept his rule to an eternity of suffering.
- God is good. While some would challenge me that God would not allow any of the bad stuff if He were truly good, I know that for whatever reason the bad exists, He has provided a means of ultimate escape from it all through His Son’s death and resurrection. The ultimate “bad stuff” has already been overcome by the faith He gifted me with. While the world worries about the potential deaths, economic collapse, I have an assurance that whatever happens, I know where I will ultimately end up and it will be a place with no more suffering, no more pain, and a fullness of love and ecstasy in His presence.
- Hope has a name; Jesus. While the world shouts and screams news of fear and worry, I can whisper that name, Jesus, and know that all will be made right. Because when I was addicted He broke those chains. Because when I was lost in selfish indulgence, He taught me what real love looks like. When I was all alone, He chose to dwell in me.
- Love is stronger than fear. Read 1 John 4 and you will see how important love really is. God is equated to being love but also is an assurance that we belong to Him because we subsequently mimic, like any doting child does, that which we see our father do. And while fear is the tool that pushes us into ourselves, Love breaks free and allows us to go to those around us with an assurance that ultimately, all will be well.
I have no doubt I will likely continue to hear the calls to fear and anxiety for the rest of my life. That I will need to rehearse these to myself and be reminded of them by my brothers and sisters in Christ. But for this I am grateful, that today the tomb is empty and no news of Covid-19, no earthquake or economic collapse can take away this truth; I have hope that He who is in me is greater than he who is in the world and that one day this will be all made right and I will get to worship Him forever.
Wrestling with this like I have been? Pray with me… “Father, I confess my unbelief. That I have failed to trust your sovereign rule over all things. That I have indulged my own sin and fear and have failed to love as a result of it. Help my unbelief and give me faith. Help me to trust in your love for me that I might begin to faithfully love others. And allow your Son’s death and resurrection to begin to mark everything I say, think, and do with the hope you promise me.”