handling uncertainty in light of the gospel
I know what you’re thinking, “here is another article surrounding COVID 19 to add to the thousands of others.” Whether or not this was your thought process, I want to preface this article by saying this is not an attempt on my part to be a “relevant Christian,” nor am I seeking to gain the praise of friends by capitalizing on a hot topic in our world right now. Rather these are reflections that have been laid on my soul in this time of chaos. I hope it comforts your heart and helps you see that fear and uncertainty are broken bonds through the liberation of the gospel!
FEAR IS CAST OUT BY PERFECT LOVE
I don’t have to tell you how much fear and uncertainty is surrounding communities across the world right now, because you are living in it. People are in dire need of an extravagant love that casts out fear, a love that testifies to a greater treasure. This presents the question, will you use this time to speak of a superior treasure to those who are crippled by fear? Or will you blend in with those around you by giving in to fear and hopelessness, rendering you a bland and tasteless vessel of grace to a hungering world? I’m not saying you should minimize the pain of others, but rather maximize the display of the love and grace of our Heavenly Father.
DON’T LET SATAN CAPITALIZE ON YOUR ISOLATION
Satan wants to weaponize your isolation, using it as an opportunity to attack you, maybe with things you’ve been struggling with, or maybe with past sin. One of Satan’s best strategies is getting you in a position of isolation where he can then torment you. With the sting of failure and sin also comes the stench of shame, the whisper of Satan saying you have no right to the Father, that you are not who Christ declares you to be. Don’t let shame consume you, but use this time for soul care, to be reminded of your unique position in Christ.
Remember who you belong to. In the words of my friend Pastor Chris English, “You are a sung over, trinity danced with, beloved child of God.”
DEATH HAS NO STING
For some of us, COVID 19 has brought us into an uncomfortable state of mind, maybe its that we are faced with the possibility of losing loved ones, or maybe its an arousal of fear in your own heart. Let me remind you that the sting of death is gone, the inevitability of eternity with Christ is our comfort. Devastation never has the last word, the grave is not the end. For children of God, darkness is not final.
“The weapon may be formed, but it won’t prosper. When the darkness falls, it won’t prevail, because the God I serve knows only how to triumph. My God will never fail.”
THE TREASURE OF KNOWING CHRIST IS A LIVING BEACON OF HOPE AND JOY FOR OUR FRAGILE LIVES
Knowing and treasuring the preciousness of Christ is everything. It is a solid rock in our most trying times, and a glorious inexpressible joy.
Two passages of scripture have really spoken to me during this recent time of uncertainty. Instead of writing more of my thoughts on this, I’ll keep them to myself and let the living, powerful, and radical Word of God speak for itself.
- 1 Peter 1:3–4, 6–8
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith — more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire — may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory.”
- Habakkuk 3:17–18
“Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.”
My prayer is that our response as a church would be unprecedented, that our attitude in this time of uncertainty would be like Habakkuk, filled with faith and joy.
Though a pandemic afflict nations around the world and those I care about, though my plans for the semester turn out to not be what I had hoped them to be, “yet I will rejoice in the Lord.”
