Fear of the Unknown
All of the news lately has been about the spread of the Coronavirus, and what we as a nation and world should do to attempt to stop the spread of the virus. As a result, the NBA has suspended it’s season, the NHL has paused it’s season, MLB is not starting it’s season on time as planned, and the NCAA has cancelled it’s tournaments, both the conference tournaments and March Madness. The list goes on and on.
But for my family, the biggest blow came when Walt Disney World announced yesterday that it was going to close its parks. For a family that was slated to fly down to WDW on Sunday, that was a hard reality that really struck home the seriousness of what is going on.
Is this an over-reaction? Perhaps, perhaps not. It’s not for me to judge whether it is or not. What I believe, though, is that what we really have is a fear of the unknown, of not knowing what will happen next, and when a place like Walt Disney World — which this closing will be I believe only the ninth time it has closed since it opened in 1971, and by far it’s longest closing — closes its parks, the whole world takes notice.
The Christian in me believes that the world doesn’t know what to do, doesn’t know who to turn to, doesn’t know what is going to happen next. I mean, if Walt Disney World can close, if every single Disney Park is closed, if Disney Cruise Lines is suspending operations, then what could be next?
My friends, I don’t have the answers to what comes next. What I do know, though, is that my faith is in God and His Son, Jesus Christ. I know what my Bible tells me; throughout His Word are words of hope, of words of comfort, of a promise that He will be with us. So at the end of the day, I turn to God, and to these verses:
‘for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.’
2Timothy 1:7
‘Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.’
Joshua 1:9
‘The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?’
Psalms 27:1
‘For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord , plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord , and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord , and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.’
Jeremiah 29:11-14
‘Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.‘
John 16:32-33
Putting these Bible verses here for you is, I hope a comfort for you, as it has been for me. The world is chaotic right now, but when I read these verses, I remember Who is truly in charge, and as a result the fear of the unknown that I wrote about has turned into the Peace of God.
If you need to talk about any of this, or if you need any help with anything, leave me a comment, we’ll talk off-line afterwards, and we’ll work on doing what we can to bring order out of chaos. Also, feel free to check out our Prayers for the Week Facebook Group — request to join, and in that community we have many prayer warriors that will pray with you and for you.
Together, we can all make it through this.
