Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases predicts 100,000-200,000 deaths from the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S. Tim Johnson, Eaton Rapids Medical Center President & CEO on March 18th in a letter to the community stated that they have two confirmed positive cases at the local hospital and expect that there will be more positive cases to come.
Media announcement like these along with what seems like nearly constant newsconferences make it easy to understand why some people are beginning to succumb to fear. Fear of not being able to get the things they feel they need. Fear of isolation and separation. Fear of loss of income and employment. Fear of loss of health. Fear of death.
As Christians, we need to understand that fear is one of Satan’s most popular weapons to use against us. The most common lie that Satan loves to use to instill fear is that God is far away or even absent when we need Him most. If you are have had or are currently having these feeling, Surprise! you’re not alone. God promises literally hundreds of times throughout scripture that he is always with us.
In Joshua 1:9, Moses has died and God is commissioning Joshua to lead His people into the promised land. This is how God ends his talk with Joshua:
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be
afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever
you go.” (Joshua 1:9 NKJV)
Likewise, in Zephaniah 3:17, not only does God promise to be with us, but He will rejoice over us.
The LORD your God is in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will
rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will
rejoice over you with singing.”
(Zephaniah 3:17 NKJV)
Hebrews 13:5 speaks to fears concerning finances.
Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you
have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
(Hebrews 13:5 ESV)
The Great Commission ends with these words from Jesus:
And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
(Matthew 28:20 ESV)
And finally, one of the greatest confessions of faith in the Bible comes from Paul at the end of Romans 8: For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Romans 8:38-39 ESV)
My prayer for those reading this is, as followers of Jesus Christ, we can put away our fears and truly know the peace that comes from the unshakable knowledge that nothing can separate us from God.
Paul’s final instructions to the recipients of his first letter to the church in Thessalonica are just as relevant to us today as when he wrote them.
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for
this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
(1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NKJV)
Kurt Kowalk
