Over the past couple of weeks, I talked with many people about the COVID-19 thing. Yes – thing – because the entire problem of viral infection had grown far beyond the individual’s protection. COVID-19 is now a thing that encompasses social isolation, business failure, childcare, education, politics, and increasingly a problem of personal health and mental well-being. Even the simplest of issues, such as customer support, is turned into a drawn-out event due to the rules of social distancing in the corporate world. I am meeting people that are suffering because of delayed medical procedures. Others are beginning to feel the effects of depression and stress.
Feelings Make You Helpless?
Feelings of helplessness become overwhelming when we try to give a little comfort or support to friends and loved ones. Failure may become stifling when we try to help a suffering stranger. These emotions can become paralyzing if we let them. And, when we add in our Christian-isms, the problem becomes even more debilitating. Remembered phrases such as, “God helps those who help themselves,” and “God won’t give you more than you can handle,” accuse us. These statements hold accusations of failed faith, weakness in belief, and even false beliefs.
God asks for only a tiny bit of faith, and He will do the rest (Matthew 17:20; Isaiah 43:19, ESV). Therefore, what kind of faith does a mustard seed have? As it turns out, the mustard seed knows only that yesterday, God provided rain and nourishment, and therefore assumes tomorrow God will give the same (Matthew 6:26-30, ESV). God wants us to know that He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow (Hebrews 13:8).
God Has This, Too
The reality of the situation is that God will allow us to encounter situations that we have no hope to resolve. “Why,” you may ask? Because it is in our weakness that God’s strength, love, and power is known (2 Corinthians 12:9). God’s power is not evident when we are strong, but when overpowered, God’s power will come like an army of angels as He did for Elisha (2 Kings 6:16-18, ESV). Remember that, unlike Elisha, God’s power resides in us, His Temple. With the Holy Spirit upon us, there is nothing God cannot do in our lives (Romans 8:9-11, ESV). Therefore, pray, seek God, and speak with confidence into the stress and depression we find today, and know, this too, God already overcame.