Fear: The Ultimate Contagion

Valerie Cullers 38 Comments

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Over the past few weeks, I have thought about what to write. The media has inculcated the public with an irrational fear of the COVID19 Virus. I have been in different situations and heard people speak of the fear they are experiencing. I have also spoken to people from the medical community who are not living in fear because they face worse germs every day when they go to their workplace.

This particular Coronavirus is real, of course. It does have about a 1% mortality rate, and those who are elderly or have underlying health conditions are the most vulnerable.  These facts are nothing to sneeze at (pardon the pun). It is highly communicable and it did not start in this country, so there is an element of the unknown about it. Each person does need to practice good hygiene procedures and make individual decisions about where they will travel and how they will limit their own risk of exposure to the disease.

That being said, the next condition to deal with is the underlying fear that is present in our culture today. We need to ask ourselves if we are going to give in to that fear. That answer will be different for each one of us based on our age, our health and ultimately the spiritual center we use to guide our lives.  Those who have no belief in God and are completely dependent on their own resources will have little reassurance. Those of us who do believe in God are in a much better position to defeat this particular enemy.

No matter what situation we are facing, the Lord does not want us to live in fear. He has promised us in His word that He will take care of us. “Fear Not” is woven throughout the Scriptures. For this particular circumstance, we have Psalm 91 to read and take comfort in. He tells us that if we are His and we abide under His shadow that: “He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. YOU SHALL NOT BE AFRAID of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.” These are just a few of the verses from this Psalm that we can read and rely on. We can trust God to take care of us no matter what is going on around us.

I am not saying that we will not suffer or that bad things will not happen to us. I am saying that we can trust HIM to take care of us no matter where we find ourselves. For those of us who believe in HIM, let’s take a few deep breaths and remain calm. Let’s trust HIM with our lives because HE ultimately holds them in His hands. And let’s ask ourselves, “Who else would we rather have taking care of us?” He knows our every breath and knows the number of hairs on our heads. He just wants us to trust HIM. 

The truth is that we only have today, it is the only day we have been given. Let’s not live it in fear.  Let’s pray, practice good hygiene and spend time with the Lord in His word. There we will find everything we need to live in peace and to defeat this ultimate contagion. 

Image by john hain. Courtesy of Pixabay

38 thoughts on “Fear: The Ultimate Contagion”

  4. This is very true. I’m not seeing anyone writing about one part of the situation, though. What responsibility do believers have to non-believers in a time like this?

    It feels to me that we need to pray, share hope AND do what we can to prevent the healthcare system from being swamped. Yes, we love God and God loves us. What a blessing. But, we’re also supposed to love others as we love ourselves. This latter love may include willingly and cheerfully limiting or changing some of our activities.

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  8. Hi Valerie,

    I just read your blog post – I can’t believe how the Lord has given us such similar messages!!!  You’ll enjoy my post tomorrow – I hope!!  We are not fear-based as children of the living God!!

    I just received an email from a former church we attended in Sacramento, CA.  Gov. Newsom has “mandated cancellation of all events over 250 people.”  So church services in CA are online only or disbanded until further notice!!  …even more reason to keep praying!!  🙂

    Blessings,

    Erma (aka Amre Cortadino) MerryHeartInk.com

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  9. Well-reasoned concern leads to positive, necessary action. Irrational fear leads to panic and frequently feeds bigotry. As my father taught me, we tend to fear those we do not understand and to hate those we fear.

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  12. Thanks Val. We are called to be light in the world; to let Him be the light in us. John 1:5…The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.

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