USA (MNN) — Coronavirus cases in the U.S. continue to skyrocket and the stock market remains volatile. Last week, the U.S. closed its borders with Canada and Mexico, the tax deadline moved from April to July, and severely-affected states ordered citizens to stay home. See our full coronavirus coverage here.
Ron Hutchcraft of Ron Hutchcraft Ministries says fear has “gone viral.” “There was an earthquake a few days ago in Utah and, like any earthquake, the damage was localized,” he says.
“In this case, we’ve got a ‘coronaquake’ going on… and it’s shaking scores of nations and lives everywhere.”
Fear vs. faith
Fear, like the coronavirus, does not respect person or status. More about that here. But believers have the antidote.
(Photo by Korhan Erdol from Pexels)
“There is a wonderful statement in Scripture that I came across just a couple of days ago from Psalm 29:11… ‘The Lord sits enthroned over the flood.’ Right now feels like a flood!” Hutchcraft says.
“Every hour there’s a flood of new information, new dangers, but the Lord sits enthroned over the flood. The Lord gives strength to His people and the Lord blesses His people with peace.”
Diving into God’s Word and discovering His promises is one exercise of faith. Sharing those guarantees and reassuring people of His control is another. For example, God directly gave His promises to Joshua, but it wasn’t meant to be “head knowledge” only. The Lord commissioned Joshua to a specific task, and Joshua used God’s promises to encourage others along the way.
Similarly, believers can first overcome their fears with faith. “Right now, our perspective is going to be so warped by the enormity of this (coronavirus) situation. It’s easy to go beyond being informed about it, which we should be, to being consumed by it, which we shouldn’t be,” Hutchcraft says.
“Our first job is to make sure that we get God’s message for us every new day. Before I listen to the news, before I check my texts, I need to be with Jesus.”
Then, Hutchcraft says, believers have a job to do. Watch as kids put faith into action.
Contagious courage
Exercising appropriate caution is wise when dealing with infectious diseases. However, self-preservation can sometimes become self-centered behavior. “Imagine all the people around you who are facing the very same fears, the very same dangers [and] they’re doing this without a Savior,” Hutchcraft says.
“People are starved for hope; they’re starved for something they can hang on to because every life anchor right now seems to be shaking. What a time for what you have to offer.”
(Stock photo courtesy of Pixabay via Pexels)
Today’s technology – email, social media, video conferencing – makes communication possible when physical contact is not. Hutchcraft urges believers to leverage these platforms for ministry.
“These days you’ll hear Christians described as hateful and prejudiced and angry. This is our time to prove that we want to be agents of Jesus’ love into people’s lives,” he says.
“If you have a smartphone, put it on an altar and dedicate it to Christ right now and say, ‘Lord, I want this to be a way of delivering encouragement, and hope and help and love to some people who are feeling increasingly isolated, lonely, disconnected, afraid, and desperate’.”
You can also use this brand new Prayercast video to guide your prayers. Share it with other prayer warriors in your life using the buttons below.
Header image is a representative stock photo courtesy congerdesign via Pixabay.
