I was in Southeast Asia when the Coronavirus was first beginning to spread in January. There was something apocalyptic to each day, as my friends and I put masks over our faces before we left the apartment in the morning. Our translator kept asking store owners for hand sanitizer and face masks, but most were out or selling them for outrageous prices. 

 I remember a day one of our team members spent on the phone trying to talk to an embassy, asking if we would be quarantined on our return home. Would we even make it home? The streets were quieter, and people looked at each other with a flicker of fear behind their eyes. Are you infected? Will you infect me? How are we going to survive?

I listened to racism rise in the tones of the locals around me. The Chinese were to blame for all of this! My heart broke. Didn’t they know about the Chinese medical workers giving themselves to help end this virus? Had they not heard about the Chinese believers willing to be arrested to bring care to their neighbors? What about the lepers? What about the sick that Jesus didn’t hesitate to approach? Weren’t the Chinese now the equivalent of lepers in the Southeast Asian community? Why were we denying them compassion for what they were suffering in their own country? 

In war, we can rally around causes, and know who to hate and who to love, but with a virus, there is no villain. Only sickness, that comes without reason or method. It sweeps an unbiased hand against all nations and yes, if you live without hope, it’s terrifying. 

 I hear believers around me talking about how this is clearly a sign it is the end of the world. I think it must be said… yes, it’s the end of the world. But, the world has been ending since Jesus left. There have been other plagues, other wars, other griefs, other pains. This doesn’t negate their gravity or lessen their impact. But please, keep that within your perspective.

“You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.” -Matthew 24:6-8

Jesus did not, and does not desire us to lose our focus in the pressures of fear. Do not be afraid, this world is broken, and you will feel the pains of this brokenness until the world ends. Stockpiling on toilet paper, refusing to show kindness, and developing paranoia against your countrymen is not going to save you. Nothing can save you from this world. Your only hope is Jesus Christ, because in Him is hope of a new earth where nothing can steal you away from him.  

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”- John 16:33

I’m not encouraging you to ignore government sanctions and act ignorantly to the crisis at hand. But I want to encourage you to hope in the middle of this. Look to the God who offers comfort in crisis, companionship in isolation, hope through hopelessness, and eternity past our numbered days. If anything this crisis should be an opportunity for us to become bold in the sharing of our faith, because people need hope now more than ever.

 I learned that a smile can go a long way, and a willingness to reach across the table and show some compassion can go even farther. Take care of yourself, but ultimately, take care of your faith in this too. Don’t let the circumstances give you permission to abandon what you’ve learned in your faith. Christ is still the same king today as he was yesterday when everyone was healthy. He is God through sickness, storm, war, and fire. Hallelujah, He is God above it all. Let that be our resounding cry as we walk forward into this year.

How can you take up the banner of Christ in the middle of crisis?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mia Grace loves sunflowers, words, old hardcover books, and fountain pens. She adores Jesus Christ, and seeks to listen and obey him in her life. Her life verse is Isaiah 52:7, and her prayer is for every girl to grasp the height, weight, depth, width, and power of Christ's love for them.