The past several weeks have been among the strangest and most bewildering of our lives. The spread of the Covid-19 virus across our nation has closed businesses and resulted in job losses, changed the way many of us work and brought our children home for e-learning. We face stress from upended routines, additional family responsibilities, loss of contact with loved ones, friends and co-workers and concerns for those who have been afflicted by or may be most susceptible to the virus.
While it may be difficult to avoid feelings of fear, anxiousness and uncertainty we can be resilient and “tough” by remembering that God is always with us. I stumbled upon the following passages written in early January by Christian blogger Fritz Chery, before anyone could have imagined the extent to which the Covid-19 virus would come to affect our lives. His words would be appropriate for any time of difficulty we may experience as an individual, family or nation, but seem to be written for the crisis we all are currently facing.
“Jesus Christ told us that we would have tough times, but he also reminded us that he would always be with us to help us. Therefore, be strong in him and seek peace by keeping your mind on Christ. Believers who are resilient never stop trusting in God even when things don’t go their way. Through the severe storms we continue to serve the Lord and honor God’s name before others. People may look on and wonder how people of faith can still serve God joyfully after all the trials we endure. It is because love never
gives up. God never gives up on us and we are to never give up on God. As we see in Scripture, God loves us dearly, but that does not mean we won’t go through trials. God will never forsake you. Use these hard times to grow in Christ so you find the strength to fight through persecution, abuse, pain, and hardships because of our Savior Jesus who is our motivation.”
