We’re All In This Together, Right? Not So Sure About That

Several months ago, many of us figured that by now the novel coronavirus, COVID-19 would be a fading memory. One of those “good riddance” things. Obviously we were wrong. The virus and its consequences are very much with us. 

One of those “consequences” is continuing to hear famous recording artists and actors, celebrity athletes, and anyone with a “Who’s Who” type of name tell us, “We’re all in this together.” Well, not exactly. It’s true that in one way or another, we’re all in the same storm – but we’re definitely not all in the same boat.

 

Many of the we’re-all-in-this-together folks video their words of consolation from multi-million dollar mansions, or spacious ranches, or extravagantly designed urban apartments. Most of them, like our devoted and outspoken politicians, haven’t missed a single paycheck, while their fans and constituents were trying to figure out how to pay their bills each month, even every week.

 

Is the "boat" you're sailing in
going to carry you through 
life's inevitable storms?

So, to put it another way, some folks are weathering the COVID storm in jaw-dropping yachts or even ocean liners, while many of us are struggling to keep afloat in canoes, kayaks, or flimsy sailboats. Thanks for the words of encouragement, but when you tell us, “We understand,” we’re not convinced that you do.

I was thinking about this because even in non-pandemic times, the realities of everyday living can seem like a storm. Balancing a budget; trying to figure out how to pay to repair or replace things that break down unexpectedly; confronting the stresses of raising children or caring for grandchildren, who at times are just like angels, and other times, well, not so much. Coping with health issues, or the inevitable challenges of getting older. For many of these kinds of problems, it doesn’t seem to matter as much which boat you happen to be in.

 

From time to time we hear someone talk about the Titanic, the supposedly unsinkable luxury steamship that lost its close encounter with an iceberg on April 15, 1912, in the North Atlantic Ocean. On that fateful night, despite the unquestioned assurances of the ship’s designers and builders, more than 1,500 lives were lost that ill-fated night.

 

Contrast that to the simple fishing boat in which Jesus and His disciples were crossing the Sea of Galilee. Matthew 8:24-27 tells us, “And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But Jesus was asleep. Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, ‘Lord, save us! We are perishing!’ But He said to them, ‘Why are you fearful, O you of little faith.' Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. So the men marveled, saying, ‘Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?’”

 

What a difference: So many lives lost in the sinking of a ship that its makers claimed was indestructible, while a group of devoted followers survived a violent storm that developed suddenly on a vast sea, only because they were traveling in the presence of the Lord.

 

This is a valuable metaphor to cling to today, when the future remains so uncertain – not only with what is yet to unfold with COVID-19, but also the upcoming Presidential election, widespread unrest, and the daily and unpredictable events of life. Whose boat would we rather be in? As Jesus taught similarly: 

“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock; and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall” (Matthew 7:24-29).

The One Certainty We Never Want to Talk About

I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty weary of all the non-stop, 24/7 COVID-19 virus reporting and commentary. Yes, it’s a serious issue. And yes, we all need to take necessary precautions. Those who don’t are endangering both themselves and others. Yes, this is not the time to cast all care to the winds. Maybe we’ll never have that kind of “time” again. So, wear a mask when in crowds, keep your distance, repress the urge to shake hands and hug, keep washing and sanitizing your hands regardless, and try to refrain from touching your face – no matter how lovely or handsome it happens to be.

But I can see the other side, too. Folks who, just as soon as restrictions began to be lifted, couldn’t wait to hop in the car, head to the mall, go to the beach, stroll through the park, or resume whatever favorite activities they’ve been denied. We’re all worn out byf the incessant gloom and doom, and have grown increasingly eager to recapture some brightness and hope. As the Scriptures affirm, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life” (Proverbs 13:12).

By now, even those most stable emotionally have nearly succumbed to the drumbeat of death tallies and less-than-optimistic projections for the future. Warding off a dreaded virus isn’t the way we desire to spend the immediate future, let alone the rest of our lives.

It seems, however, there’s an issue in play far greater than enduring the inconveniences of not being free to go here and there, doing this and that, as we were so accustomed. The daily statistics serve as a dismal reminder of a certainty: Death. They used to say, “The only things certain in life are death and taxes.” Well, even taxes have been postponed for the time being, if you haven’t yet filed your income tax return for last year. But death, it’s right there, staring us in the face. And if we forget, the grim news anchors and reporters on ABC, CBS, NBC, and cable news outlets seem to take a perverse delight in providing us with reminders.

Deep down we know the truth. Our days are numbered. One day, ready or not, we’re going to pass from this life. But not today, right? Or tomorrow, either. Or next week, or next month, or next year, if you don’t mind. As actor/director Woody Allen once said, “I’m not afraid of dying. I just don’t want to be there when it happens.” We all can relate.

Not to add to the morbidity of these days, but this raises an even more profound issue. It comes down to a matter of faith – and where your faith happens to be. If you lack faith, trusting only in luck, karma, good fortune, serendipity or something similar, it’s hard to face each new day. With every tomorrow seeming more tenuous than ever, it’s easy to succumb to panic, despair, fear, or other unproductive emotions. How can one find peace amid such chaos?

That doesn’t mean those of us who find hope and assurance from the teachings of the Bible are exempt from anxiety and stress. Faith in Jesus Christ doesn’t mitigate the fact that we’re flesh and blood, with adrenaline and other stress hormones coursing through our veins to enable us to respond to external threats, whether it be a burglar or an unseen virus.

And yet, if we make the conscious decision to reestablish our trust in the Lord, and not the doomsday newscasters, we can indeed experience “the peace of God that transcends all understanding” described in Philippians 4:7. How can we have such peace, when everything we’ve known and relied on seems under attack? That’s why we’re told this peace “transcends” or “passes” all understanding. We can’t manufacture it. It truly comes from beyond ourselves. From God.

As much as we hate hearing about those who become victims of the dreaded virus, we can draw a positive from this dire time. It gives us an opportunity to do a personal reappraisal revisiting where our faith really lies. When circumstances are going well, we can claim to have faith – but we really don’t need it then. “I’ve got this,” we deceptively tell ourselves, thinking we’ve got every duck in a row. Ultimately, we don’t.

I like what Proverbs 24:10 has to say about this: “If you falter in times of trouble, how small is your strength.” We’ve all been riding an emotional rollercoaster over the past few months, hoping for good news but hearing mostly bad. But in the end, what’s our foundation? From where do we draw our strength? When it feels like we’re “walking through the valley of the shadow of death” (Psalm 23:4), where do we find ourselves turning for comfort and reassurance?

Pulling Silver Linings Out of Dark Clouds

With news about the coronavirus breaking so rapidly, it’s hard to anticipate what the latest “scoop” will be. I recall the late Gilda Radner’s “Saturday Night Live” character, Roseanne Roseannadanna, who used to say, “It’s always something!” Bad news seems to beget bad news.

But no matter: Out of any crisis, big or small, important lessons can be learned. And most of the time, good emerges out of bad, pulling silver linings out of dark clouds that hover over us. For example:

Did you know that as traffic has dramatically reduced in many cities because of people staying home, air pollution also has noticeably declined? So have traffic accidents. And did you know that in the beautiful Italian city of Venice, best known for its canals, those typically polluted waterways have cleared up in the absence of tourists? So there’s definitely some good coming out of a very bad situation.

In case you haven’t noticed – if you’ve observed stay-at-home recommendations – gasoline prices have been dropping dramatically. And it wouldn’t be a shock to learn other forms of illness have declined due to social distancing and reduced germ transfer. We could find other positives arising out of this global negative, but what about a little closer to home – our own lives?

Many of us have found ourselves spending more quality family time in our own homes. A lot of people have re-discovered the joy of sitting around the table together, sharing a meal and actually talking with and looking at each other. TV viewing has increased, but so has the neglected practice of reading books. Some families have actually resumed playing games together. It seems silk purses still are being fashioned from sow’s ears!

Perhaps the greatest benefit from this societal pause has been the opportunity to re-examine where our hope and trust really lie. Fear and uncertainty have a way of unsettling us. That can be a good thing if it causes us to revisit important matters such as faith, purpose and meaning in life. 

During prosperous times and living in a materialistic society, it’s easy to focus on things we acquire and accumulate. But being unsure what the next day will bring can prompt to ask ourselves a question like the old movie from the ‘60s posed, “What’s it all about, Alfie?” Why are we here? What’s life all about, anyway? Should there be more to life than getting up in the morning, cleaning up, going to work, coming back home, having dinner, watching little TV, then going to bed so we can do it all over again tomorrow?

Recently I read a psalm that recounts hardships the people of Israel experienced. Many times, after enduring great bitterness and travail, “Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress” (Psalm 107:6,13,19,28). In good times they would forget about God, reveling in their perceived self-sufficiency. But whenever difficult times returned, they would seek Him again.

The normal pace of life has become so hectic that many of us have lost the ability to reflect, to ponder what we’re doing and why we’re doing it. When we encounter a crisis such as the coronavirus pandemic, however, we find more time on our hands than we realized. When things seem spiraling out of control, we’re reminded once more where to go for hope and stability.

Our knee-jerk reaction is to look to the government, medical experts, scientists, whoever is “in charge.” But their wisdom and expertise go only so far. To find answers to the deeper questions of life – and death – we need to go elsewhere.

A verse often comes to my mind: “O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water” (Psalm 63:1). Do you ever feel like that, sensing that despite being surrounded by so many material advantages, we still live in a dry and weary land?

At such times we can embrace this assurance from another of the psalms: “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. O Lord Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you” (Psalm 84:11-12).

The Scriptures tell us we are blameless in Jesus Christ, and that He offers us direct access to the Father. As we listen to news reports about COVID-19, or some other calamity, and find ourselves tempted to descend into fear, even panic, these promises urge us instead to turn to and trust the God of the past, present, and all eternity. That’s a silver lining no dark cloud can obscure. 

Fear From Within Worse Than Fear From Without

Typically I write my blog posts two or more weeks in advance, but with news about the Coronavirus developing so quickly, I thought offering a more immediate view might be helpful. I’m not disputing the urgency and seriousness of the situation that has public institutions, schools, workplaces, sporting events, and many other places shuttering their doors until the emergency passes. (Not to mention the growing shortage of toilet paper – the connection for which is yet to be determined.) But panic definitely is not the right form of response.

Last week my friend, Ken Korkow, a man who has shared godly wisdom with me on numerous occasions, offered the following perspective:

“I have compiled a short history of fears, with my personal greatest concern at the very bottom:

As a kid in grade school, we watched the 1950s animated film, 'Duck and Cover,' which showed us safety techniques for the dangers of Russian nuclear attacks. In case of an attack, the film taught us to be like Bert the Turtle, a cartoon character: duck under tables or desks, or next to walls, and tightly cover the back of our necks and faces.

Then there was the so-called 'Y2K bug,' also called the Year 2000 bug or Millennium Bug, which concerned a problem in the coding of computerized systems that was projected to create havoc in computers and computer networks around the world at the beginning of the year 2000 (in metric measurements, 2K). After more than a year of international alarm, feverish preparations, hoarding and programming corrections, few significant failures occurred in the transition from December 31, 1999 to January 1, 2000.

Since then we have had other much-feared international calamities, including:

2002 – West Nile virus

2004 – SARS (Severe acute respiratory syndrome)
2005 – Bird flu
2009 – Swine flu
2014 – Ebola virus
2016 – Zika virus
2020 – Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Along the way we have added ‘Active Shooter Drills’ in our schools.

But my biggest challenge is not the junk on the outside. It's the junk on my inside. 

Please consider Mark 7:14 - 23: "When He (Jesus) had called all the multitude to Himself, He said to them, 'Hear Me, everyone, and understand: There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!' When He had entered a house away from the crowd, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable. So He said to them, 'Are you thus without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?' And He said, 'What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man.'"

At some point, each one of us is going to die – and then comes eternal judgment. Therefore, my biggest wish/challenge/concern is that I would never sin again. But I continue to do so. Amazingly, God continues to love me anyway. And He loves you, too. A quick understanding of God’s grace can be found in the GRACE acronym: 

God's Riches At Christ's Expense

Paul Tripp, a pastor, author and conference speaker, has nailed it: ‘The stuff outside you, no matter how troubling, is not as dangerous as the mess inside you, and for that you have the grace of Jesus.’ So what is the solution? Marinate in God’s holy Word to know and live His truth and be actively involved in His purposes.”

My friend is not diminishing the seriousness and concern over the Coronavirus. Only weeks ago, most of us have never heard of it; now daily we’re receiving new revelations and warnings about it. But despite its gravity, we dare not lose sight of God’s sovereignty in this and every situation we face. And what we face within us is a far greater challenge than anything outside of us.

As 2 Timothy 1:7 reminds us, “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity (fear), but of power and love and discipline.” Another passage provides this assurance: “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10). If we look away from God, fear can overwhelm us. But if we look to Him and trust in Him, fear can’t defeat us.

The Lord was with us in the past, through a variety of dangerous flus and viruses, as well as many other calamities. Thousands of years ago He made this promise: “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). And that promise holds true for the present Coronavirus crisis, and for whatever else will follow. As certainly something will.