Walking Dead: Coronavirus

1 Corinthians 15:53-55 “For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’”

Coronavirus is a word we are hearing on a daily basis, sometimes on a hourly basis. My Facebook is inundated with posts from all extremes: those who say it’s all media hype on an election year to others saying we are all going to die.

I have breaking news: we are all dying! What?!? Why would this crazy woman claim that we are all dying? Does she have insight on this virus that we don’t know about? Calm down. No, I do not know anything more than any of you. In fact, if I am honest, I am daily surrendering my fear to the Lord. What I am talking about is the fact that since the day we were born, our bodies are in the process of dying. Apart from Jesus, we are all dead. Yes, the world is full of walking dead. I think this is partly what is causing this mass hysteria...a sense of hopelessness and fear. As believers, we need to first of all stop living in fear. Should we be wise? Absolutely! Even Joseph prepared for a famine that hit Egypt. But what we shouldn’t do is live in fear to where it debilitates us. As our brothers and sisters in China did, this is an amazing opportunity to point people to Jesus who is our hope! He is the only one who can give people hope. I don’t care if you have 200 rolls of toilet paper, thousands of wipes, and bottles of hand sanitizer. Do you have Jesus?

If Wayne’s terminal cancer has taught us anything, it is the fact that we should live each day to the fullest for Jesus. Do I want to catch Coronavirus? No. But even if the worst case scenario happens and I die, want to say like Paul in Philippians 1:21 “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” This reminds me that every day I have here on earth is a chance for me to live for Christ! If I die, I win because I’ll be with my Savior! 

Where are you at? Are you in need of the hope that only Jesus can give? Nothing in this world will fill that hole in your life but Him! If you are a believer, do you believe God is sovereign? God has a plan for each of our lives. Can you trust Him I’m the midst of these unknown times? Can you even go a step further and reach out to your neighbors, co-workers, classmates, and family with the good news and hope that God offers? Many of us have been praying for a revival in this country. Maybe this is the catalyst God uses to draw hearts to Him. I doubt the early church thought that their persecution would help spread the gospel and yet God used that time in history to spread the good news. What will your choose to do? Trust God and allow Him to use you or hide in your home surrounded by 200 rolls of toilet paper?

Prayer Request:

 * Friday is Wayne’s next MRI. It is almost exactly five years from the date the doctor walked in and told us the genetics came back and showed that he had GBM, not a grade 3 Astrocytoma. We are trusting God with the results, but the hardest part is waiting for the doctor to walk in give is the results after his MRI. There is something nerve wracking to wait in an office for results like these. Just pray that we rest in God’s peace!

* Please pray for us as we travel to Omaha after Wayne’s appointment to see Emily, the young girl we have been praying for. Her brain cancer is back and I am uncertain if her mom has found any doctors with additional treatments to try. Pray that this meeting is glorifying to God!