Category: Coronavirus

  • It's hard not to feel the heaviness, isn't it?

    For months we've chafed under quarantine restrictions this Covid-19 pandemic pushed upon us.  

    Blog. Woman. wearing-medical-mask. 6.20We live by new rules, trying to protect against exposure to this frightening, ever-changing virus. We long for someone who can lay out what will come next, but it seems no one can.

    Not even the multitude of Experts.   

    Once we thought that was a lot to deal with

    Now many U.S. cities have become war zones. We've watched newscasts that showed the tragedy of human pain and resentment and lost dreams that boiled up and spewed out violence in so many cities. Perhaps we've witnessed it firsthand.  

    For many people the bigger crisis is worry over money–or lack of same. Jobs that may or may not be there when "all this" is over. And what about schools? Sports programs? 

    Some mourn the death or continuing isolation of one dearly loved.

    What to do? Where to go with all this pain? Take it to our Best Friend.

    The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.  Psalm 34:18  ESV

    "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."  Matthew ll:28-29  NIV

    This touches us all 

    It hardly matters where we live. Fear wafts through the air we breathe and sleeps with us each night.

    Our best antidote is to focus on who we are in Jesus. Remember what he said?

    Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.   John 14:1  ESV

    Read those first two words again: LET not.

    Jesus is telling us we have a choice. Don't fancy up the guest room in your mind to make room for fear. It cannot stay unless you allow it entrance. 

    One who came through the worst of times  

    Viktor Frankl spent 1942-1945 as a prisoner in four Nazi concentration camps, including Auschwitz. All his family died in those camps, including his pregnant wife. 

    Despair lurked everywhere, waiting for an opening. After awhile he decided yes, he lost everything, but the Nazis would never, could never get the last word because he still controlled his mind. In later years Frankl wrote this:  

    "Everything can be taken from a [person] but one thing: the last of the human freedoms–to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."  

    That quote comes from page 86 of his best-known book Man's Search for Meaning. When Dr. Frankl died in 1997, that book already had sold over ten million copies. It's still in print and has been translated into many languages.

    How shall we live in this time of crisis?  

    Here we are in what seems one of the worst of times, but like Viktor Frankl, we are free to choose how we will respond.  

    • Will we live by faith
    • Or will we live by fear?

    In every situation and every time, how we answer that question will shape the rest of our life.

    To live by faith in this crisis time does not mean we ignore all the guidelines and blithely assume God will watch over us anyhow.

    Rather, we love and trust our gracious and merciful Lord and we treat other people as we want them to treat us. We follow Government guidelines because the Bible tells us to. (Remember Romans 13:1?)

    We live by faith, knowing and believing that God is still in control, even when it seems everything is falling apart. 

    But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, "You are my God." My times are in your hand.  Psalm 31:14-15a  ESV

    What are we to do with fear that still follows us around?  

    Post a guard at the door of your mind and shut out fear with the Truth. 

    For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.  2 Timothy 1:7  ESV 

    Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:6-7  ESV 

    Human wisdom says that's too simple. Faith says that's how it works, even when progress seems slow. 

    Two steps forward and one step back is still one step forward. And so we grow.

    Anytime fear seems to be winning call on the One who calmed the seas and ask him to still the storm in your heart.

    And be patient with yourself. It takes time to lay down new track on the pathways of your mind.

    Still learning,

    Lenore

    Choose faith and life instead of fear

  • Every news broadcast reminds us that just breathing could be dangerous. 

    Covid-19 is everywhere and it feels as if everything changed overnight.

    Blog. Covid 19 nurse. 4.20We are smack up against the truth that life is hard and beyond our control.  

    It's astonishingly easy to be a sponge and absorb the constant stream of bad news and scary warnings on all sides.

    Then we fall into the trap of expecting the worst, justifying it by explaining we just want to be ready for what comes.  

    Who wants to live that way?  

    Re-think your thinking

    You and I cannot change the world or what's happening, but we can change where we fasten our thoughts.

    Whatever our personal situation may be, here's what we know for rock-bottom sure:

    Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.  –Hebrews 13:8

    Does that make us immune to hurting when someone we love becomes ill or dies? Do we laugh at job loss? Do we feel nothing when crises wipe out retirement savings? 

    Of course not. The difference is we don't give in and park our minds in Pity Land.

    If anyone knew about suffering, it was the Apostle Paul. Try reading his words aloud and listen with your heart.

    For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this is all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

    We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed … Therefore, we do not lose heart.    –2 Corinthians 4:6-9, 16a

    I believe every word of these passages, yet I confess, this "jar of clay" sometimes gets discouraged, too

    That's why I love this phrase from Psalm 103:14:

    . . . for he remembers that we are dust.

    Whenever I start beating up on myself for not being the shining strong example of faith I want to be, I think of these wonderful words and remind myself I am only dust.

    Imperfect. 

    Human.

    But loved by God, who knows my weaknesses and loves me simply because I love Jesus. That means I can forgive myself and move on.

    So can you.

    We see what we look for

    Once the question of who we are in Christ is settled in our minds we look at life from a different perspective.

    We let go of the "victim mindset" and accept that life can be hard but like Paul, we may be down but we are are not destroyed. 

    Here's what God said to His people through Moses–and to you and me.

    I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life . . .     –Deuteronomy 30:19-20

    That means every morning–every moment, really–we decide: Will I choose life?

    Because that makes all the difference. 

    Still learning, too, 

    Lenore

    Encouragement for our down times