• A Response To COVID-19

    By: Kristen L. McNulty

    Reprint rights available on request. Email the author at kristenmcnulty@hotmail.com.

    What's going on around the world isn't normal by any means. Borders closing, communities under lock down, the stock market crashing, people being told to stay home. While doctors have been warning us for decades that our world was overdue for a pandemic (source link), seeing it played out before our eyes doesn't take away the disbelief, because let's be honest, while scientists have being saying it, not many of us believed it. Until now.

    While COVID-19 doesn't bring along the same death rate as the Spanish flu of 1918, it's still something we have to take seriously. If not for our own health, then for the health of the people around us and to ensure our health care systems aren't overrun, resulting in sick people not being able to get treatment.

    So where does this whole situation leave us? How should we respond? I believe in at least four essential areas.

    1. Listen To Authorities


    Let's face it, who knows more about how to prevent overwhelming our health care system and how to prevent the vulnerable from getting sick? You and I? Or the government who is working in conjunction with top infectious disease doctors? If the answer was you or I, please contact me and tell me where you graduated from when you went to medical school. Obviously, our doctors and health officials know best. And let's face it, shutting down cities and countries isn't something done lightly, which is why we've never really seen it in most of the world before. So if your mayor or premier or governor or president or prime minister or king or queen is telling you to do or not do something and it's something like stay home and not something like renounce your faith, then it's my opinion that you and I should do it.

    So don't look for loop holes, show you're different by obeying restrictions instead of rebelling. After all as the Bible tells us, we are expected to submit to our government as long as it's not in direct contradiction to our faith. 

    "Remind the believers to submit to the government and its officers. They should be obedient, always ready to do what is good." Titus 3:1

    2. Love Your Neighbour


    We have the opportunity to love those around us by doing everything we can to make sure we don't spread the disease. We also can do practical things to love on our friends, neighbours or people in our communities.

    How? If it's safe for you to leave the house, take some extra food out of your pantry and leave it on the doorstep of someone in need in your neighbourhood. Call other people, especially those you know are likely to be lonely or scared at this moment. If your local food banks are still operational, send them e-transfer or online donation to help with their work. Or reach out to your pastor and see if there are any needs you can meet that the church knows of.

    3. Love and Worship God


    In a time of social distancing, there's no better time to draw closer to God. Use your extra time at home to dive deeper into your relationship with Him Read your Bible, watch church services online, consider face-timing with friends for the specific purpose of praying together. There are so many ways we can connect with God that don't require leaving the house.

    4. Let this be an opportunity for trust


    Bring God your fears and anxieties about the current situation. Pour your heart out to Him and ask for His help to navigate through this. 

    As Christians we know God is still on the throne whether it's a time of war, natural disasters or in this case, disease. Just because many parts of our society are at a standstill, God is not, He is still on the move and His plans and purposes will still prevail. As hard as this time has been for many, we know He is worthy of our trust. 

    If you start to fear, do yourself a favor and look back. Recall all the times and ways He's come through in your life and in the lives of people around you. And recall to mind scripture like Isaiah 26:3-4 :

    "You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Trust in the LORD always, for the LORD GOD is the eternal Rock." Isaiah 26:3-4

    The truth is wherever you are and whatever the circumstances are, God isn't fazed by it and He's there to help you through it. So listen to authorities, love your neighbour, love and worship God, and above all, don't let fear take up residence in your heart and minds.  Instead exchange it for trust. God's got this and He's got you.

    Closing with Matthew 6:34 where Jesus said: "So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today."

    Return To The Impact Devotional Archive