“And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?” – Luke 12:25
The world has been turned upside down.
At the time of this publication, we are dealing with an unprecedented worldwide crisis. The Coronavirus strain COVID-19 is sweeping across the nations of the world. Public gatherings have been halted. Theaters are closed. Every Disney Park on the planet is closed at the time of this writing. Even dine-in restaurants are closed. Churches have had to temporarily close their doors to simply lower the risks to their parishioners. People have been panic-buying. Doomsday preppers are having their time in the spotlight. Online retailers are selling toilet paper for $60 per 24 pack. The shelves at the local grocery and department stores are devoid of basic cleaning and disinfecting products.
The world has been turned upside down.
It’s an election year, so we have candidates bickering about how they would better handle the crisis. We have conspiracy theorists spouting their suspicions about the virus being a hoax, a constructed distraction, or even a judgment from God. Yes, this isn’t different than what conspiracy theorists always say, but now people are actually listening. The media is doing precious little to calm things down. From every media source available, there is fear-mongering, misleading statistics, and click-bait type headlines. The government (at least in the United States) is moving to “flatten the curve” but many are saying that officials reacted far too late to prevent cataclysm.
The world has been turned upside down.
The virus itself has an alarming shelf-life in all climates. It can live on surfaces for far longer than most viruses. It sticks around on all types of surfaces as well. While not nearly as pervasive as influenza, the mortality rate is higher (although not nearly as high as most media outlets would have us believe). The facts remain that it has been spreading rapidly enough to be declared a pandemic.
The world has been turned upside down.
Department stores are closed so people are worried about what they will wear. Grocery stores are wiped out from people hoarding food, so people are worried about what they’re going to eat. Jobs are laying people off so people are worried about having their basic needs met. All of this should remind any Christian of a passage in the book of Matthew. Matthew 6:31-34 reads, “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
We all know this passage and it is a wonderful promise. However, many people either overlook, or simply refuse to look at the commands in these verses. This is all red text, so we know these are the spoken words of Jesus Himself. He says “Therefore do not worry” and He repeats it two verses later. This isn’t a suggestion. Jesus is commanding us not to worry. We love talking about “all these things shall be added to us” but we want to glaze over the “do not worry” part. It is a command with a promise attached. We can’t expect to have the things added to us if we’re not willing to actively refuse to worry. So what does refusing to worry really look like?
It looks like faith personified. To worry or show great concern about things that God has already promised to take care of is to show God that we don’t trust Him. That may sound harsh, but it is absolutely true according to scripture. In Philippians 4:6-7 Paul writes, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” We see here another instance of God’s word telling us we aren’t allowed to be anxious. We are to make our requests known “with thanksgiving”. When do we normally give thanks for something? When we receive it. We are to be living in a constant state of gratitude to God for what He has promised that He will do!
Yes, the world seems it has been turned upside down, but God has not been caught off-guard. He knew this was going to happen. He has been in our tomorrow, and His word is very clear. We must choose not to worry. To do otherwise is be out of faith and in disobedience to God! Let’s not water down God’s word to match up with what we’re seeing in the world. Let’s bring ourselves up to the standard of His infallible word and live in the confidence and victory that He promises us!