How Can We Have Peace while the Coronavirus is so Disrupting?
May this article be an encouragement to act with wisdom and not fear…seeking the Lord for how best to go about or cancel so much of our daily routines. Dudley points us to the One we can have confidence in as we navigate this new season.
For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 2 Tim 1:7 NKJV
Usually when things “go viral” we all want to check it out. Viral sensations tend to be funny videos that cause us to gather close, watch, and laugh. This COVID-19 (Coronavirus) has produced the opposite effect. It has held many hearts captive with fear, moving people into isolation and cancelling gatherings that have been anticipated for many months.
News outlets can produce conflicting messages as well, from the number of confirmed cases to death rates. If you feel like me, it’s really hard to know who to trust in all of this. Let me offer a few words I hope you find helpful and trustworthy.
1. Trust in the Lord. – Over 50 times in scripture God’s people are instructed to put their trust in Him. This is not news to any of us, but I welcome the reminder that God Almighty holds our lives in His hands. Even in our suffering, He moves us toward maturity and deeper faith in His sovereignty. In times of fear, we raise our collective voices to say, “You are the author of life, and we trust you with our lives!” May the Lord find us faithful in these challenging and disruptive days.
2. Trust reliable voices. – I love that our key verse states that God has given us a spirit that includes a “sound mind.” We don’t need to panic or feel blown about by every rumor or internet posting about this virus. We should listen carefully to the voices that best understand how we can help stop the spread of any infectious disease. Here are a few of the “global” voices that we are listening to daily regarding the COVID-19 virus:
Christianity Today published a free guide for ministry leaders.
3. Pray for our T Bar M Leadership. – We are also listening carefully to our camps and conference “cousins.” Our national association, Christian Camp and Conference Association [ccca.org], is producing daily emails on best practices, and we are paying attention. We’ve already implemented some new practices on top of our high quality health standards during this crisis. We’ve implemented kitchen-served buffet lines rather than self-serve, options to move indoor meetings outside in fresh air, and other measures increasing the likelihood of a safe, enjoyable guest experience.
We’re prepared to introduce other practices if we feel they are helpful to curb the spread of any contagious virus. We’re also monitoring local and regional resources that are tasked with health safety in the Hill Country region of Texas. We are open to hearing from you directly as well. If you have a question or concern, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us by phone or email to have that conversation. As always, we are here to serve you (keeping our social distance of course) and like you, we are putting our trust in the Lord daily.
