The Living Word, 15 March 2020
This week has been a week of considerable anxiety in our city.
With the confirmation of what we already knew, COVID-19 is present in Indonesia, the ripple effect has begun to spread out to the edges of our lives. Some schools have decided to close. Office Blocks are screening for temperatures. Declarations of travel are being signed.
There is a real sense of rising panic. The sad reality is that many in our city will be impacted by this virus, particularly those living on the margins of city with limited or no access to healthcare, good nutrition and close cramped living conditions. For some this virus will prove fatal.
As a church we are holding a tension; to follow the guidelines set in place by the Diocese of Singapore, and to be a non-anxious presence in our society. To roll out Bible verses and to ignore the advice of the Diocese would be flippant and negligent. Yet, holding our practical responses and precautions hand-in-hand with the words of Scripture helps us, as followers of Jesus, to point to him in a time where anxiety and fear are spreading faster than the virus itself.
I read this excellent reminder this week at The Gospel Coalition:
https://au.thegospelcoalition.org/article/dear-christian-when-the-pandemic-hits-this-is-our-time/
‘Rather than worrying and being anxious, Jesus calls us to respond with prayer and faith in him (Matt. 6:33–34; Phil. 4:6). We need not worry ultimately because we know the One who has defeated sin and death (1 Cor. 15:55–57). Remind yourself continually: it takes the same amount of energy to worry as to pray. One leads to peace, the other to panic.’
Our Lord is the Prince of Peace. There is no uncertainty about our futures, if our faith is in Him. So, while the world around us trembles, may love for our neighbour, not worry about ourselves be our heartbeat, as God’s Holy Spirit draws us to the Scriptures and prayer, which enable us to have a peace which is beyond understanding (Phil 4:6-7) in a panicked and fearful world.
In Christ,
Zane Elliott