This blue spruce stands in my backyard. I planted it 20 years ago and am quite fond of it. Recently, I watched 14 inches of snow fall during a spring storm. Several trees and bushes suffered broken limbs under the weight of the wet, heavy snow. Not this tree. No trouble at all. The blue spruce sloughed it off, secure in the snow.
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble(Psalm 46:1).
We live in a time of trouble. Our world, under the strain of virus, seethes with trouble. But trouble does not bother the Lord. God remains ever-present with us, secure, a refuge, standing in the storm.
Zoom calls, home isolation, six feet of personal space and wearing masks to the store all help us avoid the spread of Covid-19. But these safety measures fail to put my mind at ease. They only amplify my worry about what I might catch. On the other hand, an ever-present God blesses with peace.
As I read the daily numbers of deaths and infection rates, and I hear of what may be ahead of us, one truth continues to comfort me: God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
Pray for peace, pray for strength, pray for courage. Pray and remember that God is present with you.
Visions form in my head every time I drive by. On the way to the post office I pass my favorite restaurant, closed during this corona crisis. A Mexican place, they cook up the best refried beans. I eat them in some fashion every time I go. Those beans appear in my daydreams, along with green chiles and a host of other delicacies.
These are days of fasting, forced upon us. All of us are missing parts of our lives we enjoy and I admit, take for granted. For me, no March Madness, no Cardinal baseball, no travel (trips cancelled to Vietnam, to Oklahoma City to see our kids, and to El Salvador), no movie theaters, no refried beans.
With the losses come surprises. Tons more open time. Time to think. Time to read. Time to pray. Time to listen to what God might be saying. Time to listen to what my wife might be saying.
I find myself walking throughout the day. Several times a day, often for a few minutes, other times an hour or so. I’m working from home, so I leave out my front door. My job is secure at this point, and I’m grateful. I’m worried for friends and neighbors whose finances are precarious due to shutdowns and layoffs.
In Hebrews 11 Paul introduces us to a great cloud of witnesses, who lived, and died, with faith in the Lord. At one point Paul writes that they “were made strong out of weakness.” Today we face weakness. Forced apart, no cure but time and social distancing, fear inching closer, we understand we are weak. Which is actually a good place with the Lord.
Believers throughout history faced plagues with faith in God and a commitment to care for their neighbors. Ordinary men and women, they felt weak, helpless, and afraid of death. Still, they quietly helped others, and neighbors noticed how these godly people practiced and lived their faith. We live in a similar time, and I hope to help others in a similar way. We’ll see how it goes. No matter what, a great cloud of witnesses cheers us on.
And when this time ends, I’ll celebrate with a plate full of beans.
Elijah, exhausted after fleeing the evil Jezebel, laid in a cave when the Lord came and spoke to him. Elijah was asked to stand and wait for the Lord to pass by. First, a great wind, like a tornado, tore the mountains and broke the rocks into pieces, but “the Lord was not in the wind.” Next, an earthquake, but “the Lord was not in the earthquake.” After the earthquake a fire, “but the Lord was not in the fire.”
Finally, came the sound of a low whisper. Some interpret these words not as meaning a whisper, but rather referring to silence. This was the Lord speaking, not in lightning or thunder, but in the quiet. Elijah heard and understood (1 Kings 19).
I wonder, if in this moment, the Lord is communicating through the relentless spread of a coronavirus? In our modern world of flash and clanging and spin and technology and pride, wouldn’t it be like the Lord to confront us with something so basic?
A virus, the simplest of biological organisms, confounding epidemiologists and humbling world leaders, has brought our lives to a standstill. A global pandemic, creating the necessary conditions to hear the Lord, surrounds us.
As we face a nagging sense of desperation, as our fears keep us awake at night, as we worry about a pathogen that we cannot stop from spreading, could it be that God is whispering to us in our beds?
As we’ve canceled our trip to Disney, and we are afraid to pass in the park, and we’ve gone grocery shopping only to experience empty shelves for the first time in our lives, might the Lord be murmuring to us in our organic produce aisles?
When a disease haunts our streets, one that we cannot pop a pill for or a receive a shot to stop, when we are agitated by headlines day after day, when social media voices bore endlessly into our psyches, might God be gently upending our tidy suburbs?
CS Lewis wrote: “Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”
In this viral situation, fear is an amplifier. God looks for you and I to walk out our front door and wait for Him. Allow the quiet of these days, and the fears of your heart, to give you space to truly listen for the Lord.
One final thought. We’re commanded to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. And, love your neighbor as yourself.” These are good days to practice both.
Saint Patrick’s Day, normally a time of revelry and celebration, feels dampened this year. Perhaps the current mood allows for a bit of reflection. Patrick became one of the greatest missionaries the Christian faith has ever known. Here’s a brief biography:
…on an island far to the north, Irish raiders kidnapped a young English boy named Patricius and held him as a slave for several years. While he eventually made his escape and returned to England, something started to shift in his heart. The Lord, through visions, began to pull him once again to Ireland, this time to return as a missionary to his former captors. He sailed back to preach the gospel to the pagan Irish and eventually became Saint Patrick of Ireland, the first documented missionary outside the bounds of the Roman Empire. Patrick preached the gospel as far as he could go, “to the point beyond which there is no one,” to the western edge of Ireland. Only the sea remained…
GO: Following Jesus to the Ends of the Earth
Patrick, transmitter of a virus. One cannot miss the the parallels between the proliferation of COVID-19 and the work of Patrick of Ireland. Patrick spread a virus all through Ireland, the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The next few weeks those of us who follow in Patrick’s footsteps should work to slow the spread of one virus, while advancing the cause of another. We slow one by washing our hands, practicing social distancing, forgoing regular worship services and acting on the directives of health experts.
We advance the other by taking groceries to neighbors afraid to leave their homes, checking on elderly friends and family, nursing the sick, washing our hands yet again, leaving toilet paper for others, and reminding ourselves and our communities of the hope we have in Jesus Christ.
One virus, as painful and chaotic as it is proving to be, will pass. The other creates a deep, eternal hope and will never fade. That’s welcome news in the midst of challenging times, good news that Patrick of the Virus proclaimed from the green hilltops of Ireland, and good news that our actions in this time of crisis proclaim today.
Join me in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2026. If you spend 30 minutes a day on social media, you can read through the Bible in a year. Download the 5 Day Bible Reading Plan, grab your Bible and join in. You’ll be glad you spent this year with the men and women of Scripture.
Seers, Sayers, Schemers & Saints
Stories to encourage you with the leadership experiences of overlooked men and women of the Bible. Their lives will inform your story, and move you to step out and lead.
GO: Following Jesus to the Ends of the Earth
This book contains reflections on the Lordship of Christ, the Great Commission, and a life of adventure and eternal significance. Read this book and you won't be able to sit still!
