I’ve been prayerfully thinking through how to respond to the recent outbreak of COVID-19 around the world. I have gotten questions about upcoming missions trips our church is planning, as well as personal questions surrounding my son’s plans to go to Bible College in Germany this fall. And it’s got me thinking, how do people of faith respond in times like this?

I don’t want to minimize the risk, nor do I want to incite fear. And in being wise, I have heeded the warnings and followed the advise of our medical community. But beyond that, what are we to do?

Well here are three things I believe the Scriptures tell us what to do in times like this:

Pause

Romans 10:17 states that, “faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” If we want to be people who move beyond panic to peace, we need to be in God’s Word! It’s the single most important thing we can do each day…to pause from the cares of this world to be with God. To let God speak to us, and assure us of His promises.

You see, as we are in God’s Word, our faith muscles grow, and we move beyond the fear to the “the assurance of things hoped for, and the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). So before reading the headlines, or scrolling through your Facebook feed, make sure you are taking in God’s Word and seeing the world through the lens of His eternal truths. It will definitely change your perspective.

Pray

Did you know that it takes the same amount of energy to worry as to pray? One leads to peace, the other to panic. So we need to choose wisely. Scripture tells us to pray about everything. In fact, Philippians 4:6, 7 instructs us to, “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.”

Worry is common to man. But God has called us to face troubles and threats with courage, leaning our weight on Him. So let’s be people who pray! Let’s pray for God’s healing hand upon our land. Let’s pray for our medical community. Let’s pray for our leaders. Let’s pray for our families, our churches and our community. And let’s pray that we in the midst of everything, we would be people of faith, who love others well.

Proclaim

Right now, we have a world in need of some hope. And it’s in times like these, that I am reminded that the church needs to advance, not retreat. So let’s share the hope that we have found in Christ. Let’s remind our brothers and sisters, of an eternal God, who loves us, assures us of His promises and who has made a way for us to spend all of eternity with Him.

Yes, we need to be cautious, but let’s also remember that in times like these, the world needs people who are strengthened by God’s Word, who are marked by prayer and who offer His message of hope to others.