You are probably thinking that I’m an unsympathetic bastard to have such a headline. I did not mean to offend, but I did hope to catch your attention and to highlight a silver lining that you might not have seen before.
People have been dealing with this global outbreak in a variety of ways. Many have succumbed to fear and panic as their souls are being constantly inundated by hundreds of negative messages raging through their media feeds. The result? Paranoia, panic buying, anxiety and stress. Many have been countering this fear narrative by using statistics that compare Covid-19 with other diseases or by highlighting recovery rates. I remain uncommitted to both viewpoints. I don’t think panicking and fearmongering are useful, but I do think that the situation is a very serious one.
I’ve decided to adopt an attitude of cautious optimism. Actually, that’s not entirely true because apocalyptic events do get me a tad excited (hides face). Hear me out… I don’t mean excited in a doomsday prepper kinda way (ok maybe just a little bit) and I’m definitely not one of those judgment day/ end times/ Christ is coming soon kinda Christians. What I mean is that I believe there is an opportunity in every crisis to redefine yourself, to redefine what it means personally for you to be human. There is nothing like a crisis to show you who you really are and what you really value. Let me explain. I love how a crisis will even the playing field. Money can’t buy you an option to opt out of Corona. Your particular race won’t stop it. It isn’t fazed by your degree, pedigree, luxury car or over-priced fur coat. Disaster has the wonderfully scary effect of bursting the bubble of security that we may live in based on our wealth, social status, intelligence etc. In the face of calamity, we have the opportunity to see clearly, if even for an instant, the frailty and vulnerability of the human life. Many squander this opportunity. Don’t you miss it!
Why does this excite me? Because a sense of your own vulnerability often leads to a renewed value for life in general and other human lives in particular. And that is something the world desperately needs more of! It gives me great joy to see when people (solely or in corporations) respond to crises with heightened awareness, thankfulness, generosity, compassion, empathy and love. No posts have gotten me more excited than the ones where people in quarantine describe their renewed appreciation for green spaces, time with loved ones, sharing with community and time with God. Oh sing my soul, in the midst of Corona, how great Thou art!
For all of us, but perhaps more so for the believer, Covid-19 holds yet another test: What have we built our life on? You see, while crises like wildfires, floods, earthquakes and the Covid-19 pandemic reveal our human frailty they simultaneously reveal a dramatic contrast to eternal constancy of God. This verse illustrates:
Matthew 7:24-27
24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
What is your life built on? This is not an issue of merely saying ‘My trust is in God.’ There is a vast divide between confession of the lips and faith of the heart. At times like these the true state of our heart is revealed. Are we caught in the turmoil of fear? What are we afraid of? Losing our job? Losing our home? Losing our loved ones? Losing our life? That fear reveals something about what we really believe. Will we remain standing at the end of this pandemic if everything we held dear was lost? Essentially, the question, the test of the storm is this: Are we standing on Christ? Is He our ultimate treasure and security?
This may be a test but it’s not the final exam and that is why every disaster that touches us is, in a sense, an act of God’s mercy; it is an opportunity to weigh our life in the scales and make changes now. It’s an opportunity to listen to what God has been saying to us personally and put it into practice… now. An opportunity to build your life (house) by His instructions. That’s why I said at the beginning that every crisis carries with it an opportunity – an opportunity to redefine what it means personally for us to be human.
So, as we walk forward in these uncertain times can you pray a bold prayer with me? “Lord, shake whatever can be shaken so that only that which cannot be shaken will remain.”
