How are You Thinking Today?

From a human perspective, these are tenuous days we are living in. We are brittle and tenuous people, much less in control of our circumstances than we like to imagine. We sense it as we experience nervousness and fear as a virus, or something else we cannot control, comes to our lives. Psalm 103:15-19 reminds us that man’s days are not forever, but enduring love of the Lord lasts for eternity!

In Matthew 6:19-34, Jesus speaks about worry and forbids it three times in verses 25, 31, and 34. And in Philippians 4:6-7 the Apostle Paul said, “Be anxious for nothing…” Really? This may even seem like a harsh word for today, but it’s a word from the Lord we all need—precisely at a time like this.

So rather than simply trying to stop, we need to make a shift to take our worry, our cares, our legitimate concerns to the Lord in prayer. Jesus came to lift our burdens and in fact carry them for us. Think of it as changing clothes—we take off one outfit to put on another (Ephesians 4:22-24

Worry reveals our lack of control and uncertainty regarding whom to trust. Friend, our Creator God who gave His Son, Jesus, is completely worthy of our full trust.

How do we know if what we’re thinking about our circumstance is right or wrong? And how do we make a shift?

We know our legitimate concern has shifted to worry in part when we avoid taking our concerns to the Lord in prayer and when we stop doing what is right—loving Jesus with all our heart and soul and mind and strength and loving our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:29-31).

When we think about the coronavirus, think about how to best care for those around you with each decision. When you shop, for example, do so in a way that cares for your needs, trusting God, and doing your part to make provision for the needs of others as well.

In all of this remember that our eternal safety comes from Jesus who fully ingested our very deadly virus we call sin. And because of His perfect living, Jesus is the antibody, so He rose from the grave! This is what we celebrate this every Easter (even if from our homes).

Love the Lord with all your heart, friends. Trust Him. And love one another!