Do a quick google search of “how to avoid the Coronavirus” and you’ll find a lot of interesting advice on what you should and shouldn’t do. Some suggest drinking lots of water, others say you should gargle with vinegar, still others advocate getting the regular flu vaccine. Will any of these ideas really protect you from COVID-19, it’s unlikely!
If you dig a little deeper you’ll find all kinds of conspiracy theories related to the Coronavirus pandemic. Some people think it’s a biological weapon, others say it’s big government’s way of justifying more control over citizens’ lives, and still others think it’s a population control scheme.
Add to the worries over contracting the virus the chaos in the stock market, the limitations placed on gathering in groups, the closedown of schools and the cancelation of thousands of events and you have a recipe for crippling fear and anxiety as panic stricken people look for answers during this worldwide pandemic.
In the midst of all of this pandemonium I want to share with you some direction from the Bible that can help you to be sure you’re not adding to the chaos and panic but rather that you are shining forth a beacon of hope to all.
1. Christian don’t act in fear
2Ti 1:7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
Fear seems to be a driving factor in much of the clamor over Coronavirus. I’m not saying there’s not a real danger here, certainly there is. However, the Christian must learn not to respond in fear. Our response must be level-headed, faith-grounded, and wisdom based. To live in fear is to forget our faith, simply put fear is the absence of confidence in God’s good plan. If fear is dominating my thoughts and dictating my actions, that means I’m not living in the Spirit and I’m not trusting in my God.
2. Christian don’t grumble and complain
Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,
Php 2:14-15
It’s easy to become complainers in a time like this. We complain about the government’s response, we complain about those who panic, and about those who don’t self quarantine even though they are obviously sick with something. Yes, the weeds of grievance, gripe, and grumble grow well in the fertile soil of COVID-19. However, Christian beware that these weeds are the very thing which will choke out your gospel witness.
3. Christian don’t lose your peace
Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
Joh 14:1, 27
Here’s a quick test for you.
- Can you stop thinking about COVID-19 and just relax?
- Does it keep you up at night?
- Are you constantly thinking about it even though you don’t want to?
If you answered “yes” to these questions then you most likely have a troubled heart! This pandemic reminds us that the peace Jesus gives is unique and lasting, it is a peace more powerful than the Coronavirus, it is a peace that allows us to weather the storms of life knowing that the Almighty God is at our side.
4. Christian don’t forget that tribulations are a normal part of a fallen world
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.
Joh 16:33
Sometimes it seems to me that Christians have forgotten that heaven is still waiting for them. They seem almost shocked when they see the effects of sin in our world. Yes, to be in horror over sin is a good thing but we shouldn’t be shocked by its ramifications in our world. None of us our free from the curses in Genesis 3. We take heart not because we have no hardships but because we have hero who has overcome them all and promises us victory over the curse of death and an eternity without those earthly tribulations.
5. Christian don’t lose heart
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
2Co 4:16-18
The main reason we lose heart is because we are looking at what we can see around us. Look at the news and you’ll lose heart. Look at the economy and you’ll lose heart, look at your aging body and you’ll lose heart, look at what’s happening with COVID-19 and you’ll surely lose heart!
Here we need to train our focus on the what God is doing. Is the Holy Spirit doing a work in you? Is God preparing you for eternity? Are you growing daily closer to your Savior? What about in others, do you see God’s hand leading, caring, providing? Look with the eyes of faith and you will see much to encourage your spirit!
6. Christian don’t act like those with no hope
But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.
1Th 4:13
Too often when I hear Christians comment on the current state of the world I wonder if they really have hope or not. In difficulties, in danger, and even in death we are have no reason to act hopeless or helpless. We have a hope beyond all hopes, and a promise for eternity. May others see this hope in our reaction to the pandemic as well as to all other problems of life.
7. Christian don’t forget the power of God’s love
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?
Rom 8:35
Do you believe God loves you and cares for you? Did you not believe that love sent Jesus to the cross to die for you? If he would go that far for you then, why would he not continue to go to those lengths now. Jesus’ didn’t lay down his life for you so that you could spend your days in worry and anxiety over a virus. His love is bigger, stronger, and longer lasting than COVID-19.
8. Christian don’t be so dismal
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
Jas 1:2-3
Let’s learn to count the joys of quarantine! It may mean more time with your family, more time to study God’s Word, more time to pray, more time to share the gospel. It should mean a greater opportunity to trust God with your finances, with your health, and with the health of your family. Greater trust equals stronger faith! In all these things we ought to have joy knowing that God is with us, he will get us through it and if we look to him during these difficulties he will give us greater joy!
9. Christian don’t forget how God uses hardships to advance the gospel
I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.
Php 1:12-13
Yes, even Paul was quarantined, yet he didn’t see this as a hindrance to the gospel but rather as a means of furthering its impact. Here’s one of the biggest opportunities we’ve seen in years for the advancement of the gospel. People are afraid and worried and they’re looking for hope, hope that you and I can provide! Let’s not miss this amazing gospel opportunity!
P.S. If you want to read more about worry/anxiety over your health, I have a whole chapter one that topic in my book, “How to Kill Worry and Anxiety Before They Kill You!”
