Keeping Calm During Coronavirus: God’s antidote for anxiety.

Hey This is Tim bringing you words of grace today from Corona park! Who would have thought that that word Corona would be such a dreaded word! And yet it is. The Coronavirus has spread fear and anxiety all across the globe. I would like to try to help us with the calm part of that… how do you conquer the anxiety of such a thing as this!


There is so much information out there about what to do with your hands and what to do with your food and what to do with your face and your community gatherings… but what do you do with your mind and your heart? And all the more so now that we are contained in something of seclusion … at least here in NYC. Let me give you some tips to help you deal with your anxiety.


But before I get to that, lets consider first what is this anxiety? Well, anxiety or worry is a feeling or emotion that is very natural… it is the emotion of concern. And at that level of concern and care it is not negative at all.


In fact as you look at the original Greek word - μεριμνάω is not always used in a negative sense.


The Bible says do not be anxious. But there are times where the Bible says to be concerned for others. Paul for his co-workers, a husband and wife for their family. These are good reasons to be concerned.


To be honest, that is one of the things that the CDC is pushing as a key component to quell the spread of the coronavirus - be careful. Be cautions. Don’t go here, don’t go there, don’t do this, don’t do that. Its not that you are anxious it is that you are careful.. Cautious.


And so we find as with all our emotions they are given to us as a positive thing. Your emotion of anger, your emotion of sadness, your emotion of concern, are all good in and of themselves… But if the emotion gets the best of us then those same emotions can trap us into outbursts of anger, instead of sadness… depression instead of sadness, and anxiety and worry instead of concern.


No doubt, many of you, and I think all of us in the days to come are going to struggle to keep the concern in the positive sense and we will be tempted to be anxious.


Yet Jesus says:


"Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing? For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" (Matthew 6:31-7:1).

How?

Two primary fronts of attack when attacking anxiety. The first is what you do, and the second is what you think about. Two primary fronts of attack. Please consider these today and help keep calm in our world by God’s power enabling you:

What to Do:

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:6-7).

Be anxious for nothing. Don’t be anxious even for the corona virus. What!? YES, NOT EVEN FOR THE CORONAVIRUS Don’t be anxious about your life. That is clear.

"But in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known." So the first thing you should do is pray. Bring your request to God. Well He knows what I need.  Yes, but you need to talk to Him about it. And there is value to you and your spirit in the very action of prayer.

What are you nervous about? Are you nervous that you will get the virus and die? Well, as the Lord to keep you safe and keep you living. Are you nervous that you will run out of toilet paper and bread? Well, take precautions and then pray that you will not. That is what Peter is encouraging us to do, "Casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you" (1 Pet. 5:7).

That is what you need to do. You have this bulk of anxieties and you have to take everyone of those anxieties and roll them on to the shoulders of the One God who can truly cary them. They are too strong for you to carry! So roll that on to the Lord.

But the text also says to be thankful. We should pray with thanksgiving. When we go beyond just asking and start thanking God for all that He has given, we begin to see the glass half full. We see that we have breath, we have life, we have sunshine or shadow, we have covering, we have food.... There are so many things to thank God for! And this is another important task to do when you are anxious.

And what that does is that it begins to get your attention away from your world onto the God Who is holding the world! That is so important. So, what do you do? Pray - casting … Pray - thanking…

Attack in the Mind

Now, our second primary attack is the mind. As we begin to think correctly, as we think a new way - what the Bible calls a renewed mind, then anxiety begins to slide away as well.

And so we want to fix our mind on Him. As Jesus encourages us not to be anxious, He talks about our Father. And that is the bottom line. I don’t see my four year old wringing his hands saying oh no! These headlines are disastrous, what if cash runs out, what if I don’t have enough to eat. I’m going to have to get another job!

No… Seth leaves all of that to me… He leaves it in the hands of his Father. Several times a day you need to look up and find security in three primary truths about God: These three truths anchor our soul in the midst of the trials and storms of life:

God's Power is Unlimited

This is such a joyful truth in the midst of a pandemic. The science community is scampering without a solution, the health community is giving guidelines to help mitigate but not to solve, the political community is coming together to curb not to solve… and so we have to come to the One Who is all-powerful.

"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say to the LORD, My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!" (Ps. 91:1-2).

I think it is interesting that God is this El Shadai term God almighty is used more in Job than any ohter book of the Bible. In our times of greatest distress we need to think more and more upon God almighty. So, don’t meditate on your powerlessness, meditate on your Father’s almighty-ness.

God's Knowledge is unlimited.

Second Fatherly thought - God knows all. You may think, yea, but a God that big, that powerful, what does He do for me! He doesn’t know me! But yes He does. Jesus says- every day of your life is numbered, every hair of your head is numbered.

God knows you. I love how the Psalmist puts it. He is intimately acquainted with all your ways. He knows what you are feeling. When you speak with Him… You are not speaking to a distant Father, but a Father at hand. So, trust Him… love Him… Rest in His knowledge of you.

God is all powerful; God is all knowing; and God is all loving. No trial is past His power… No trial is beyond His knowledge and nothing escapes His loving hand.

God is all loving.

Thirdly, God loves you. I think of poor Jeremiah, the weeping prophet. When he was faced with the destruction of all he knew and loved - His homeland, many people in His dear homeland. There was one haven, one primary anchor for His soul - He said:


"Surely my soul remembers And is bowed down within me. This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope. The LORD'S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness" (Lam. 3:20-23).


You see the battle was in His mind. He recalled God's love to His mind and then he had hope. My friends, you have to win it here. If you want to have a sense of calm in this coronavirus or any panic for that matter… You have to get your eyes off the hear and now onto your heavenly Father.


You must remember that His lovingkindness is real. Remember that He loves you. And that love is demonstrated in that He gave His Son, Jesus to die in your place. That is the greatest demonstration of God’s love for you… and it is the way God becomes not just a distant Creator but a loving Father - By that fact that God’s Son, Jesus died to pay for the penalty for all our sin.


For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever should believe on Him will have everlasting life" (John 3:16).


So, is God your Father? That doesn’t come by physical birth. The relationship to God as our Father happens through spiritual birth… And that spiritual birth - the coming to spiritual life happens based on your faith. Based on trusting this message as your message - Faith and repentance.


Repentance is turning from your lawless deeds to Christ the Holy One… accepting the fact that you can’t be good enough on your own. But You put all those deeds on the table before Him willing to do anything.


Faith, is trusting as true the exchange of the Gospel, that God’s Son changed places with you. He died in your place on the cross receiving the penalty you deserved. That He earned the perfect standing. And that He can give that standing to you if you ask.


Ask Him today, my friend!

• God - I believe in You. I believe that you sent Jesus as your Son to die in my place …
• I trust this is true and ask that based on that fact you would forgive me from all my past, present and future sins. . . please save my soul.
• Please wash me from all my sins. I hold none of them back. I put them all out there - take it all away and receive me into your spiritual family.
• Pray to Him this day as your all powerful, all loving, all-knowing, all caring God and Father.
• Cast your care on Him today my brothers and sisters!
  

So, don’t meditate on your powerlessness, meditate on your Father’s almighty-ness.

He knows what you are going through.

• Third and most importantly - God cares for you and loves you.
  This is such a huge concept all throughout Scripture.
  Pray now.
  Don’t be anxious - Be careful… don’t be anxious be resting in God today.
  
  
• And that is what is we should do.

• Several times a day you need to look up and find security in three primary truths about God:
• These three truths anchor our soul in the midst of the trials and storms of life:

GOD’S POWER IS UNLIMITED 

• THis is such a joyful truth in the midst of a pandemic. The science community is scampering wihtout a solution, the health commuinity is giving guidlines to help mititgate but not to solve, the political community is coming together to curb not to solve… and so we have to come to the One Who is all powerfull.
• He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
•  2 I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!" (Ps. 91:1-2 NAU)
• I think it is interesting that God is this El Shadai term God almighty is used more in Job than any ohter book of hte Bible.
• IN our times of greatest distress we need to think more and more upon God almighty.
  

• Second Fatherly thought - God knows all.
• You may think, yea, but a God that big, that powerful, what does He do for me! He doesn’t know me!
• But yes HE does.
• JEsus says- every day of your life is numbered, every hair of your head is numbered.
• God knows you.
• I love how the Psamist puts it. He is intimately aquainted with all your ways.
  
• He knows what you are feeling.
• When you speak with Him… You are not speaking to a distant Father, but a Father at hand.
• So, trust Him… love Him… Rest in His knowledge of you.
• 
  
• God is all powerful; God is all knowing; and God is all loving.
• No trial is past His power… No trial is beyond His knoeldge and Nothing escapes His loving hand.
  
• God loves you.
• I think of poor Jeremiah, the weeping prophet. When he was faced with the destruction of all he knew and loved - His homeland, many people in His dear homeland.
• There was one haven, one primary anchor for His soul - He said:
•  20 Surely my soul remembers And is bowed down within me.
•  21 This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope.
•  22 The LORD'S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail.
•  23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. (Lam. 3:20-23 NAU)
• You see the battle was in His mind.
• My friends, you have to win it here. If you want to have a sense of calm in this coronavirus or any panic for that matter… You have to get your eyes off the hear and now onto your heavenly Father.
• That His lovingkindness is real. That He loves you.
• And that love is demonstrated in that He gave His SOn, Jesus to die in your place.
• That is the greatest demonstration of God’s love for you… and it is the way God becomes not just a distant Creator but a loving Father - By that fact that God’s SOn, Jesus died to pay for the penalty for all our sin.
• God so loved the world that HE gave His only begotten Son, that whoever should believe on Him will have everlasting life!

• So, is God your Father?
• That doesn’t come by physical birth. The relationship to God as our Father happens through spiritual birth… And that spiritual birth - the coming to spiritual life happens based on your faith… trusting this message as your message.
• Faith and repentance.
• Repentance is turning from your lawless deeds to Christ the Holy One… accepting the fact that you can’t be good enough on your own. But You put all those deeds on the table before Him willing to do anything.
• Faith, trusting as true the exchange of the Gospel. 
• That God’s Son changed places with you.
• He died in your place on teh cross receiving hte penalty you deserved. That He earned the perfect standing.
• And that HE can give that standing to you if you ask.
• Ask Him today, my friend!
  
• God - I believe in You. I believe that you sent Jesus as your Son to die in my place … I trust this is true and ask that based on that fact you would forgive me from all my past, present and future sins. . . please save my soul. Please wash me from all my sins.
• And I hold none of them back. I put them all out there - take it all away and receive me into your spiritual family.
• And then … pray to Him this week as your all powerful, all loving, all-knowing, all caring God and Father.
• Cast your care on Him today my brothers and sisters!