In my many decades of life I had not seen the world as agitated as it is today. The financial world is in a spin. International and domestic travel has been curtailed in different parts of the world. The bastion of sports has been breached, to the extent that big events have been cancelled. Universities and colleges have suspended classes. Churches have cancelled worship services. Fear seems to be holding our world in a vice grip.
It feels like we are in a war, but with the distinct disadvantage of not being able to see the enemy. We hear that the enemy might be in our home, in our school, in our church, in our gym and just about anywhere. Its code name is COVID-19 and it has succeeded in driving fear into many hearts, much like the fear that as children we experienced in my village when the term “candy man” was used. While traveling to or from school, the sound of a motor vehicle would send us scurrying into the scrubs in an effort to hide from the candy man who reputedly offered candy to little children as a kidnapping bait.
But there is a big difference between the fear of the candy man, which stemmed largely from tales told by adults without understanding their psychological effect on vulnerable and gullible children, and COVID-19, which is real, present and spreading. Every effort must be made to mitigate the effect of this silent and invisible enemy, which has exposed the fragility of human beings, the tenuousness of their institutions and the frailty of their systems. No wonder the wise man Solomon concluded in Ecclesiastes 1:14, “I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind.”
Some theologians take the view that Ecclesiastes speaks to our age more than any other Old Testament book. Jeff Kautz says that Ecclesiastes “has today’s world woven through the fabric of every page.” Ecclesiastes speaks to the restlessness of human beings in every generation since the fall and their efforts to find meaning in things that they have made. Solomon’s powerful assertion in Ecclesiastes 1:14 is essentially an appeal to us not to seek purpose and satisfaction in anything that is human. Our purpose and satisfaction are to be found in God. Take all possible precautions against COVID-19, but do not allow its impact on the institutions of our world, including the stock market, to fill you with fear and trepidation. David encourages us in Psalm 42, “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him For the help of His countenance.”
In this time of agitation and fear, we expect our political and civic leaders to provide strong and effective leadership, but our hope is in God. We can trust Him in the good times and the bad. Here are two precious promises from His words on which we can reflect during the days and weeks that lie ahead:
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give you as the world gives. Do not let your heart be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 17:27)
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,
Nor shall the flame scorch you.
For I am the Lord your God…” (Isa. 43: 2&3)