When the World Changed

It was March 11, 2020 when the world changed.

That was the day a basketball game made the coronavirus pandemic real.

The Utah Jazz were in Oklahoma City getting ready to play the Thunder in a regular season game. The game never even started. Players were on the court, and tip-off was about to take place. Both teams went back into their locker rooms and the crowd was told the game had been postponed and asked to leave in an orderly fashion. We found out afterwards, it had been discovered that one of the Jazz players tested positive for the virus. About an hour and a half later, the NBA suspended the rest of the season.

The World Health Organization had already declared the virus a pandemic, many schools around the nation had already closed, some travel bans were already in effect, lockdowns were already happening in China and Italy, and now I realize, my father was already sick. He was an 80 year-old medical doctor, still seeing patients.

Soon after, life as we knew it, was suspended.

My dad died in late April of that year. As a doctor, he’d fought all manner of illness and injury for more than 50 years. He knew the dangers that came with his profession and fully accepted them. He waged a valiant war against the virus – hanging on for 26 days on a ventilator – but he could not defeat this enemy that he could not see. My siblings and I were left anxiously, exhaustingly, exasperatingly, waiting for the phone to ring with reports of his condition. Unable to even go to the hospital or be together, I still – two years later – can’t find the words. I don’t know how to explain to you in a way that would be real, what it feels like to not be allowed to be with my father, to not be with my brother or sister, to watch my father take his last breaths through FaceTime on somebody’s cell phone.

Desperate, helpless, useless, crushed. They’re just words. They don’t capture anything. They can’t reflect reality. Maybe it’s not the words fault but my own since I haven’t been able to master the manipulation of them.

Before the end of the year, I lost someone else dear to me to the virus. A dear friend I’d known all my life. Our birthdays were two days apart.

There’s Always Hope

As dark as that time was for me, I have never felt closer to the Lord. He comforted me daily. I had a sense of peace that only He gives. Storms raged around me every day, but in my soul I was anchored by His peace. My husband was right here beside me through it all. I am truly blessed to have so many family and friends who are Believers. Their love and prayers strengthened us all.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:7

As if the pandemic wasn’t enough, the world seems to have come apart at the seams. Cultural and political unrest, economic struggles, radical shifts in every aspect of life. You can’t have rational conversations with people who hold different opinions or points of view, we’re “canceling” people, we’re not allowed to ask questions, and on and on. It’s mass hysteria!

If you haven’t found yourself losing hope, you just haven’t been listening to the world around you. It’s crazy out there, ya’ll. And…it just doesn’t look like there’s any way of fixing things. This Pandora’s box has been opened and the lid is broken.

Look, I’m not saying we are living in the end times. Maybe we are, and maybe we aren’t. What I am saying is our hope is not in this world, and peace here is fleeting. Our hope is in Jesus, and only through Him will you find a peace that lasts. If you think you’ll find hope and peace when the world gets better, you’re putting your faith in the wrong thing. Redirect. Look to God for hope, peace, answers, comfort. All the things you may be waiting for the world to provide and somehow right itself, it can’t. Only God can.

One thing I do know for sure, the end times will come. I don’t know who will be alive to experience it, but I do know that someone will. Even then, God is the only foundation to stand on. The Bible doesn’t tell us things will get better and everything will be alright (that only happens when Jesus returns), but we never lose our focus. We never stop doing Kingdom work. That’s who we are. Christ is in us. Don’t let fear or worry about what’s happening in the world around you paralyze you from doing what God put you here to do. It’s very easy to fall into depression and isolation becoming a shell of yourself. That’s exactly what the enemy wants. He can’t have your soul, so he does everything he can to keep you from fulfilling your relationship with God.

Beneath the Surface

True, I’m preaching to myself. I’ve had a rough two years, but I know I’m not the only one, and I want to encourage you to refocus. Put Jesus back on center stage in your life, and let the concerns of everything else fade away.

Great peace have those who love your law;

nothing can make them stumble.

Psalm 119:165

I can’t fix the whole crazy world. I don’t even know how to fix one thing in the world, but I do know when you turn your back on God – chaos reigns. It’s very sad to say, but the truth is, this country turned its back on God a long time ago. Sure, there are a lot of Christians here, that’s true. Unfortunately though, as a society, we’ve become more and more worldly and less and less focused on God. You don’t have to look very far or very hard to see that.

So, what do you do when everything’s falling apart around you? How do you keep from feeling hopeless? Where can you find peace that never leaves?

Stand firmly on the Word of God. Don’t abandon your relationship with your Savior. Pray. Read your Bible. Stay connected with your brothers and sisters in Christ. Worship and praise God. Let your light shine from within. Live as Christ taught us to live. Love. Guard your heart, and prepare yourself for battle with the enemy every day. Lift others up. Do the work the Lord has put on your heart. Fight the good fight. Be merciful. Forgive. Spread the Word.

If you just looked at it from the surface, it doesn’t make sense that I would have such a profound feeling of peace during such a difficult time. Except, the scripture tells us, the peace of God, surpasses all understanding. God is good.

When the world changes, God doesn’t.

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