Deeper Longings with Darren
12 May 2020
What if I am infected by COVID? Who is going to take care of my 4-year-old and wife, who is pregnant and due in May. What if my wife gets COVID instead? Will the baby survive? How about my 4-year-old? How about my parents and in-laws who are much older? Are they safe?
I’m Darren from the 3rd congregation and these are the questions that have been bugging me recently. I have been anxious for quite a while because of the unpredictable situation due to the pandemic. As I continue to struggle with these questions, I curiously searched for the word ‘anxious’ in the Bible. I discovered that being anxious is not that uncommon in the Bible. Even Paul mentions briefly about himself being anxious. In my reading of the Bible, anxiety seems to be linked to the fear and concern of our daily lives, our living conditions and our daily necessities. Anxiety is also linked to the fear and concern of our spiritual well-being. In all situations, the Bible shows people are anxious because of the present time and also because of the unpredictable future of when the next meal will come or when one would be jailed for professing Jesus.
What is surprising to me is the response offered in the Bible to these situations. In the Old Testament, Isaiah and Jeremiah comforts God’s people by proclaiming that salvation will come after judgement. Their suffering would not be forever. Jesus reminds us: instead of focusing on our anxiety, seek his kingdom first - pursue him and that will help with anxiety. Paul, in Phillippians, instructs us to rejoice because we know that Jesus is our lord and saviour. He is victorious and we share that glorious victory, therefore we can rejoice. Although we can be anxious for various reasons, Paul reminds us that we can, and we should, instead, bring everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, to God. As we do that, peace which surpasses all understanding will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. It is in this promise of surpassing peace that I feel at ease - that Jesus, who guards us, fully understands our deepest struggle. Therefore, my prayer is to him who truly empathise in me. I hope that these words help you during this time of COVID and may we continue to press on in our journey together ‘til we see Christ Jesus our lord and saviour.
Let me end by praying and feel free to join me. I cannot foresee what will happen to me and my family. I cannot control what will or will not happen. I cannot calm myself just by positive thinking or by distracting myself. But instead, I can run to you, my heavenly Father, in prayer and pour out my heart. I can fix my eyes on Jesus, who will return in glory and bring me to a place without suffering. I can stop fighting anxiety on my own, but instead dwell in you, O God, in your words which brings comfort. I pray that you help me in my battle with anxiety, just as Habakkuk prayed, “Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.” I pray to you, God, that I rejoice more than I worry, that my joy will grow. And may you give me peace beyond understanding. In Jesus’ most precious name I pray. Amen.