What else is true?
I suggest we are surrounded by messages of FAITH and HOPE and PEACE. See Part 1 for the introduction to this series. I pray we lean into those messages and stories in these challenging days and weeks or months. Fear is not the end of the story…true messages beyond Coronavirus are legitimate and necessary to consider right now, as well!
1. HOPE is true!
In recent days, we read that there have been no new infections originating in some of the places first struck by this virus. Good news! There is an end to this fear-inducing lung infection. For those of us in many parts of the world, we have been working to flatten the curve…to reduce the sudden exponential patient load on the health care system so that a lesser number will be sick right away and a higher percentage of us will be cared for as well as possible. Were it not for these measures, infection rates would skyrocket, overwhelming the healthcare system – and many of us would not be able to obtain the treatment we need. It also means the effects of the virus will remain around us a while longer. So, while there is hope, there is a clear need for resilience…for The sustaining Hope!
From my view there are two groups of us most needing hope-filled resilience: The health care professionals and responders on the front lines fighting this virus and those of us who have no control or power to directly fight it. Yeah…those two groups include pretty much all of us. We all need the sustaining hope that gives life in the midst of loss and pain. Great news – We have just such a hope: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…”(1 Peter 1:3). That is hope worth sharing!
In prayer, time and again in recent days, I’ve been grateful that I follow a God who mourns with those who mourn and rejoices with those who rejoice. And Paul encourages us to live similarly (Romans 12:15). That reality gives me hope. I am convinced we suffer a host of problems and pains in life, mostly of our own doing, that of humanity as a whole, or selfish choices of the powerful few. And surely there are miraculous healings and “fixes” that happen sometimes, but regardless of our faith, obedience, and trust – healing does not always come in ways or timing we hope for. When broken things don’t get fixed or our wounds are not healed, my first thought is not that God doesn’t care…I remember that God’s heart is touched by the emotions we experience. Jesus wept after his friend Lazarus died even though he knew he would raise him from the dead because he saw the broken hearts of this man’s sister and others (John 11:33-35). Christ demonstrates that it is the heartbreak of others that touches God’s heart. God gave us a world to take care of, to steward, to love, and to support each other. The earth and the people on it were made to function well – to love and care for each other and the whole of creation. Let it be so in our time, Amen!
We also read that following reduced human activity and exploitation of the environment in recent weeks, blue skies and clear water are seen in broad swaths of China known for the effects of chronic pollution, as well as metro areas across the US! Bird songs are heard again with the din of factories and traffic reduced. (For a live feed of animal activity, follow this link to several options) Even better, we read of people communicating in new and different ways with the specific intention of encouraging one another! Friends around the world post on social media offering listening ears or the priceless commodities of toilet paper and basic groceries to those who need it! Museums share collections, artists perform online, a friend offered a Facebook Live worship gathering, and choirs sing together via the internet. Workers across the country realize that they miss interaction; and interpersonal contact is valued and arises in new, creative ways.
How is it for you? What sources of hope do you need and hold onto? What do you miss…and how will you find it? Who is encouraging your faith in that living hope and whose faith can you encourage? And before you do anything, rest for a moment with the God who loves you and whose promises are true. Call someone and offer encouragement as a way of striking back against the loneliness that threatens. As you are able, give voice to your need. Next time you buy groceries, offer to pick some up and drop on the doorstep for an elder or someone with compromised immune system or disability. Buy what you need. Share what you have – Hope is a gift for everyone! Encourage those around you. Be light in a dark time! And find something…anything…about which you can rejoice – and God rejoices with you. This is resilient Hope!
“Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning!” (Psalm 30:5.b)
God give us hope to sustain us! Share the hope you have or a source of pleasure or joy with someone today by phone, text or email!
Wonderful truth for a new morning, a morning where His goodness yet overflows, if we will but see. Thanks for the reminder to see Him at work in today.