[This reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 15/Mar/2020]
“A person’s days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed.”
Job 14:5 NIV – God determines how long I will live.
Working in the NHS at this time it is very easy to become paranoid that every patient I come into contact with has coronavirus and to wash my hands raw. It is easy to become fearful each time I hear a cough. This is exacerbated when I read a newspaper or watch the news. There is a conflict with in me – do I go the way of the world and live in fear or do I have faith in God that He determines my days?
Many are praying Psalm 91 at this time:
“I will say of the Lord , ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’ Surely he
will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.”
Psalm 91:2-3, 7 NIV.
Of course I am praying that this disease will stop and praying protection from it for those I love. However, can I really expect that I will not be touched by this virus, that no-one I know will be ill or worse still, die? Is that how it works? That I can I hold onto these verses as a talisman and claim protection? It didn’t work against having miscarriages or against cancer or against heart disease or against dementia, all of which have touched my life or the lives of those around me.
However, what I can say is that God has been with me through all these times and He has sustained me. That He will be with me and you through this time and He will sustain us if we hold fast to Him. The verses I do hold on to are:
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God
will be with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:9 – God is with us.
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling.”
Psalms 46:1 – 3 NKJV – God is present with us IN our troubles.
“I heard and my whole inner self trembled; My lips quivered at the sound. Decay and rottenness enter my bones, and I tremble in my place. Because I must wait quietly for the day of distress, for the people (or virus) to arise who will invade and attack us. Though the fig tree does not blossom and there is no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive fails and the fields produce no food, though the flock is cut off from the fold and there are no cattle in the stalls. Yet I will [choose to] rejoice in the Lord; I will [choose to] shout in exultation in the [victorious] God of my salvation!”
Habakkuk 3:16 – 18 AMP.
And like Habakkuk, I will choose to rejoice in the Lord, whatever happens.
And, of course, I will still wash my hands!
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Contributed by Fiona Witherden; © Fiona Witherden