No matter what you believe about the Corona Virus and the
“pandemic” declared by WHO, it’s a concerning situation. While the virus itself
doesn’t pose much threat to the general public, and recovery is expected, to
those most vulnerable among us, it can be fatal. That puts a bit of stress on
us as caregivers as we strive to take the necessary precautions to try and
shield those we care for from exposure.
Where do we run in times like these? As a caregiver fear
knocks at my heart’s door. I want to batten down the hatches, spray everyone
with disinfectants and move further back in the caregiver’s cave. The social
isolation of being quarantined isn’t scary – many of us have been living like
that for years. I discussed this in another blog I maintain by stating, Welcome to My World.
We hold on to faith every day as caregivers. It takes faith
most days for us to continue living and moving forward. But add something like
this crazy virus on top and we have to dig down just a little deeper. I’ve
watched Christians on social media platforms plea the blood and quote
scriptures declaring it won’t come nigh their dwelling. But over the
last few years of caregiving, I’ve learned that faith isn’t so much keeping
horrible things at bay – instead, it’s what carries us through them.
One of my favorite scriptures comes to mind, and I’ve seen
it quoted a lot lately. David talks about abiding in the shelter of God and how
God is our refuge. We don’t need a refuge if there isn’t a storm. Some of the
phrases I’m seeing pulled out of context in this psalm are:
He will deliver
you from the snare of the fowler
And from
pestilence,
It shall not come
near you….
No evil shall
befall you nor any plague come near your dwelling…
I love to claim these too. But there really is a catch. First
off, we must admit there is a fowler’s snare, pestilence, plague, arrows
flying, and destruction. It exists and we are not exempt as much as we’d like
to think so. Now, don’t get me wrong, one thing I’ve learned as a caregiver is
how He continues to watch over us and walk with us through
things. Daniel didn’t get an exemption card – he faced the lion’s den. David
faced Goliath. The three Hebrew children walked through that fire. Jesus faced
the cross. There is no exemption – only deliverance.
Think for a second about the writer of this psalm. David ran
for years from Saul. He hid in caves and ran for his life. His son, Absalom
killed his brother Amnon. Then, later on, Absalom was killed. David lost two
sons. He knew heartache. After his sin with Bathsheba, he lost a baby son. He
knew God didn’t keep all bad things from happening. But here in this
“protective” psalm, we try to quote like it’s an enchantment or
incantation, David stresses that God is
our shelter – we don’t need shelter if nothing is happening to us. I don’t
hide under an umbrella if there’s no rain. There is no running to the storm
shelter if there isn’t a storm.
God does not promise a free ticket and exemption from
problems. What He does promise is that He will never leave us. He does promise
to be faithful. He promises to keep our souls in the midst of the storm. There
is no promise that the storm won’t come – but rather the calm assurance that
He’ll keep us in and through it.
I will take the necessary precautions to protect my son from
the Coronavirus and the flu. I will pray that he nor anyone in this household
gets it. But whether we face it or not – I will trust God to carry me through.
Today, I will focus on God’s faithfulness. My meditation
will be on how He remains calm in the craziest times. I’ll turn my thoughts to
the fact that whether we see uncertain days or not – He will remain with
me. He will walk each day with me. And today, I’ll be grateful for His presence
and His beyond-our-understanding peace in the midst of chaos and craziness.
I’ll trust Him – for today, for tomorrow, and forever. Will you join me?
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