Why the panic?

Exodus 15; Job 33; Luke 18; 2 Corinthians 3

The big story in recent news is panic over a virus. People are fearful to the point of stripping stores of major supplies, cutting back on travel, and not shaking hands. However, a few have pointed out that cancer, heart attacks, even suicides, mosquitoes and other human beings are killing more people than this virus. Some dare to say that the media is blowing this out of proportion.

Medics say it is no different than any other virus. I’ve read that ordinary influenzas will infect between 29,000,000 and 41,000,000 people in the United States during the 2019-20 season and result in 16,000 to 41,000 deaths in the US alone.

I’ve not checked out these numbers but even if they are exaggerated, they still suggest ratings may be more important to the media than scaring people out of their senses.

That said, who wants to get sick? Life may be short but most of us want it to be sweet. When God led His people out of Egypt, they were just like us, complaining about the first thing that went wrong — a lack of potable water. He gave Moses power to fix that problem but it was only the first in many tests to see whether they would trust Him or not.

I feel a bit like we are being tested too. Right now that ‘we’ refers to myself and my hubby. We plan to travel next week, a bit of a trip that will take us through several major airports. I talked to a friend yesterday that was horrified when I told her about it. She figures the virus is going to hit everyone, but I figure that God is sovereign over sickness and over who gets what. Nonetheless, my faith is being challenged by that thing called ‘fear’ even though I know fear is not from God. The Bible is clear about that:

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” (John 14:27)

“For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” (Romans 8:15)

 “. . . for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” (2 Timothy 1:7)

This morning, Exodus adds to these thoughts with the promise He made to His people, a promise that has validity today:

 . . . There the Lord made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them, saying, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer.” (Exodus 15:25–26)

Medical people know that the stress of life affects our wellness. They also know that a relaxed person who is not anxious heals quicker than an upset, worried complainer. One doctor wrote a book on this topic agreeing that obedience to God usually results in good health. It is called, “None of These Diseases.”

This is not to say sickness means a person of faith is disobedient. Job’s ‘friends’ thought so. One of them said, “Man is also rebuked with pain on his bed . . . .” (Job 33:19). But there are other reasons for sickness. For instance, Job’s faith was tested by it. A man born blind was that way until Jesus healed him and God was glorified. Most often, sickness is the avenue by which He takes His people home.

At the same time, Exodus 15:26 says He is our healer. My hubby was healed of one ‘incurable’ ailment years ago. This week, his oncologist looked at his blood work and called it a “train wreck” then attributed his health to “some sort of divine intervention.” As hubby says, we wake up each day by the grace of God.

APPLY: this is a faith-encourager. The temptation is to worry that travel will make us open to a virus attack, but life with Jesus is not about being a slave to fear. The answer is to trust God, listen for His instruction and do what He says. He might tell us to stay home, but today the word is to trust Him.