Serenity in the whirling chaos

By Jessica Brodie

Like many of you, I have been watching the news about the coronavirus since January, worried about the people impacted—and whether it would spread to my local community. Now, with the president declaring a national emergency, schools and events shuttering, quarantines and curfews imposed, and the number of new cases quickly on the rise, it seems that day is here.

If your grocery store is anything like mine, it’s sold out of toilet paper, facial tissues, hand sanitizer, and most pump hand soaps. I’m learning new phrases like “social distancing,” and life as we know it is very quickly starting to change. My kids have started asking questions about whether we’re entering the “end times.” In truth, I have no idea how to answer those questions.

But I do know one thing: Everything is going to be OK.

No, I don’t relish the idea of getting sick. Yes, I’m worried about my relatives older than 60, and I’m worried about the impact this pandemic will have on our economy, public safety, and those struggling with food insecurity. Sure, at times I’ve wondered if I need to learn how to hunt, grow my own garden, plant some wheat, or even turn a portion of my home into a doomsday haven in case the world starts to go a little crazy before Christ returns.

But on days when my anxiety begins to shift into overdrive, when I start to count my remaining rolls of toilet paper or wonder if that nagging little cough isn’t allergies after all, I remember one critical, all-important truth: I am a child of God. I belong to Him. And God tells me in His Holy Word, the Bible, that I need not fear what kills the body. For in Jesus, I have eternal life, and nothing on this earth can prevent that if I only hold tight and cling to Him.

There is liberation in this, isn’t there? I don’t need to panic. I don’t need to worry. I just need to keep my calm, care for those around me, and take one step and then the next on God’s path.

I’m a “feelings” kind of person, a sensitive soul. But in times like now, I find it’s helpful to set those feelings on the shelf and focus on the truth found in God’s Word.

If you’re worried right now, I urge you to stop letting those whirling emotions get a foothold and instead pray on what God tells us over and over: Do not fear. I am with you.

The word “fear” appears more than 300 times in most English-language translations of the Bible. Most of those references involve God assuring us—through Jesus, through His prophets, through songs and stories and more—that we are safe with Him.

I love Matthew 10:28 (CEB), which tells us plainly, “Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body but can’t kill the soul. Instead, be afraid of the one who can destroy both body and soul in hell.” Sure, it sounds scary to pair the word “kill” in relation to our tender, fragile bodies, but as Christians, we know that our lives on earth are only temporary. As the apostle Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 5:1-9, our earthly bodies are a tent, but we have an eternal building waiting for us in heaven.

So fear not, friends. Here are some verses I am praying on during this difficult time:

Isaiah 41:10 CEB, “Don’t fear, because I am with you; don’t be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will surely help you; I will hold you with my righteous strong hand.”

Matthew 6:34 CEB, “Therefore, stop worrying about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Psalm 27:1 CEB, “The Lord is my light and my salvation. Should I fear anyone? The Lord is a fortress protecting my life. Should I be frightened of anything?”

Philippians 4:6-7 CEB, “Don’t be anxious about anything; rather, bring up all of your requests to God in your prayers and petitions, along with giving thanks. Then the peace of God that exceeds all understanding will keep your hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus.”

John 14:27 CEB, “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give you. I give to you not as the world gives. Don’t be troubled or afraid.”

2 Timothy 1:7 CEB, “God didn’t give us a spirit that is timid but one that is powerful, loving, and self-controlled.”

The one tugging on my heart today is that last one. We are filled with a powerful, loving, self-controlled spirit—not one that bends to the chaos of panic but one that rises up in the name of the Lord God Almighty to do His work and help His people.

Pray on that—how can you help spread God’s serenity in the whirling chaos? How can you shine His light?

In the meantime, friends, may God bless you and your community. Remember that you are loved.

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