The God of all comfort, now and forever

There is a famous story that Nero played the violin while Rome burned. I don't know this to actually be true, but he is connected to the story of his country experiencing the end of their society, and he seemed to be out of touch with the plight and pain of his people. He is charged with being a leader incapable of feeling and not responding to the tragedy that engulfed his people.

The coronavirus has presented to the world a problem unlike any that I have experienced. Social media can be advantageous in that news can spread across the globe in real time. We have access to the world instantly. However, it also possess the ability to send misinformation or fear just as quickly. There is no escape on social media right now, as every fear seems to be racing into my timeline, and the constant bombardment is relentless. It feels like our world is burning like Rome did.

The role of faith in these uncertain times brings us to a bigger reality, one that should be the calm even as the storms of panic or hopelessness envelops so many around us. I am not a medical expert, so I am not advocating for anything other than this, don’t lose sight of hope. As I been praying and thinking about the state of the world, I need to be as diligent as I consider the state of my own heart. I worry about the safety of my parents and other family members that are more at risk. I wonder if my children should remain in school. I am sure that most if not all of us share similar concerns and thoughts.

I have seen numerous posts about hand hygiene and ways we can protect ourselves, our families, and our more vulnerable members of society, and I would encourage everyone to be doing them. We all need to be adhering to them and practicing love in how we seek to prevent any spread of the disease.

My suggestion both for myself and to every other believer is to take these worries and anxieties and to bring them before the God of all comfort. I am determined to rest in him, and to continually come before him. He is still God, all powerful, all knowing, and able. The same God that saved me, is the same God that raised his son from the dead. Any virus, or any pandemic is still subject to His authority and power. My challenge is to be praying more than I am worrying, and seek to rest even as the storms around me get stronger and present new challenges. God still loves us, he isn't like the fable of Nero who was charged with being out of touch with the plight of his people. May we draw near to Him in these days of unceasing anxiety and fear.

““Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:25–34, ESV)