The concern of
contracting COVID-19 (the Coronavirus) has caused major shifts in our everyday
lives. Governments have issued orders to “shelter at home”; non-essential
businesses have shut their doors until further notice; restaurants have stacked
chairs in their dining rooms to discourage patrons from sitting down at tables
and are now offering food for take-out only – even giving curbside and
home-delivery services so people do not have to get out of their cars.
People are
hoarding supplies for fear of goods not being available, as if mass production
of goods we use every day will suddenly cease. Some have tried to take
advantage of the situation by purchasing as much as they can in an effort to
sell necessary items like water, toilet paper, and hand sanitizer at exorbitant
prices – and they have found desperate buyers to pay whatever is necessary to purchase
them.
School
districts have made the decision to send children home while teachers prepare
packets of lessons or assignments to be completed online, so education can
continue without children and teachers being enclosed together in classrooms. I
heard in one area bus drivers are making their regular routes – this time to
deliver and pick-up homework assignments to children in those neighborhoods.
Even churches
have changed their weekly meetings, opting to make the services available through
Facebook and You Tube so church members continue to be encouraged and
spiritually strengthened during these challenging times.
Growing up I
heard stories my grandparents told of people coming together during times of
war – neighbors helping neighbors, strangers reaching out to give assistance to
those in need. And that’s what has been happening during this crisis. As older
adults and those with compromised health situations seem to be especially
susceptible to the virus, neighbors are shopping for groceries and running
errands to help those in need, even giving out of their own supplies when
grocery store shelves are bare.
The health care
community is also in need. One hospital in our area is taking donations of new,
unopened packages of cleaning supplies. Someone in my neighborhood sent out a
request for old sheets and thin elastic, so she can sew masks for parents to
use whose children are in a local children’s hospital. Others are making masks
made out of a special material. Doctors and nurses can use these as outer masks
to put over the official ones and help conserve their supplies.
Car
manufacturers have offered to shift production to make ventilators and help with
critical shortages in hospitals. Some breweries even changed their production
processes to make hand sanitizer (another item that has been in short supply
due to the virus).
And the list
goes on.
Almost
overnight this virus that has plagued our generation has drastically changed
our routines and our special events.
Instead of
hopping in the car to run to the store or driving to a concert or sporting
event or out of town vacation, the idea of social distancing has caused us to
re-think every aspect of our lives.
Gatherings of
friends and family have been postponed. People have been forced to find
creative ways to celebrate milestones – friends driving a parade of cars past
someone’s home to say “Happy Birthday”; family members standing on the lawn
singing and waving signs; a man in love serenading his long-time girlfriend
through her window because she is confined to stay indoors.
And this list
also goes on.
But one thing
hasn’t changed – and it shouldn’t change, especially for believers in Jesus
Christ.
There is no “social
distancing” with God! Prayer is still available, whether we’re confined to our
homes or to a hospital bed. And while we need a vaccination against this virus
that has put our lives on hold and caused people to react in desperation, we should
– we must – respond with renewed faith in God.
We are
concerned, and we are cautious. Yet our commitment to the One who met our
greatest need by dying for our sins, who is even now preparing for us a home
with Him in heaven, should be stronger than ever.
As the world panics,
let us be faithful and be renewed by the truth of God’s Word…
“Be still, and know that I am God”
(Psalm 46:10).
“Jesus
Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).
“You
will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast,
because
they trust in You” (Isaiah 26:3).
“Do
not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition,
with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which
transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ
Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).
Ask the Lord, “How
have you called me to serve You in this generation ‘for such a time as this’?”
And “pray
continually”…
For
those who are sick and in need of healing from the effects of the virus…
For
government leaders making decisions that affect our lives…
For
healthcare workers laboring tirelessly to care for those suffering from
illnesses…
For
those we know who are lost and in need of Christ as their Savior…
For
opportunities to join the Holy Spirit in His work to offer help and comfort to
people in need.
Remember,
we can offer “Praise…to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father
of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so
that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive
from God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).
COVID-19 will
one day be a distant memory. This is the time to ask God to use us to help meet
basic needs, offer comfort, and point family and friends, neighbors and
co-workers who are lost in sin to the One, True God who never changes, who is
never more than a prayer away, who remains sovereign and in control.
That is the
difference we can make even now, a difference that will last for eternity.