Overcoming the Spirit of Fear

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV

I’ve noticed a lot of irrational fear among Christians during this COVID19 “pandemic”, as it’s being called. God does not want His people behaving like scared rabbits, nervous cats, or cackling chickens. For millennia, human beings have walked about infecting each other with various pathogens which have resulted in weakness, sickness, and yes, even death, without resorting to wearing masks or social distancing. When we compare the death rates, COVID is currently a little worse than the seasonal flu and a lot less worse than the Black Plague. In fact, after deducting the deaths falsely attributed to COVID, it may even be a lot less impactful than the seasonal flu. Granted, COVID is quite dangerous to certain members of the population, but those are the people who should be quarantining and limiting their exposure to the public, not the whole populace! So, let’s take the usual precautions of practicing good personal hygiene and sanitation, cover our coughs and sneezes, and get on with the business of living. It’s past time for us to return to our former way of living and resume our normal routine.

As for us Christians, we should be asking ourselves whether our faith is truly in God during crises like this. After all, if we trust God with our very souls, can we not trust Him with our health and lives? The Good News for Christians is that we get to live until we die, and then we get to live forever with Jesus! It’s a win-win, no matter how we look at it! As the Apostle Paul put it, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21 NKJV). Cowering in our homes and hiding behind masks is hardly reassuring to anyone that we have genuine faith in God to watch over us. The same deadly germs for all manner of diseases were lying on surfaces and floating through the air the day before the Wuhan Virus was manifest among us as they are right now, yet none of us was too frightened to leave our homes for work, shopping, or worship back then. Moreover, the presence of these pathogens in our environment never did require the use of face masks in public or six-feet-apart social distancing. Were we simply blissfully ignorant and naïve or merely confident that we could deal with whatever illness came our way? Did God exist prior to our learning of the existence of the Wuhan Virus? Does He still exist now, and do we still believe He is able and willing to protect us from such dangers if we place our trust in Him?

I am absolutely stunned at the reaction of Christians to this overplayed crisis and at how willingly they have gone along with every ridiculous political leader’s mandate, particularly limiting worship attendance or cancelling it altogether and forbidding singing of praise to God! Rev. John MacArthur made news recently because he has finally understood the danger of blindly obeying human governmental leaders, especially when they issue commands contrary to the Word of God. As the Apostle Peter and the other apostles said, “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29 NASB). I also agree with Joshua, who said, “. . . as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15 NASB).

So, what do you say? Shall we relax, take the usual safety precautions for preventing the spread of diseases as we always have, and get back to the former routine in our lives? I’m ready. Are you?