April 2020
David Hixon • April 13, 2020
Uncertain Times
I am guessing many of you have been like me during these uncertain times. I have found myself anxious and nervous and at times even a little worried though I know full well that worry and fear are not from God. And yet it can be difficult not to at least be concerned. There is so much uncertainty around all of us right now. If I knew for sure how some things were going to turn out then I might not be quite so anxious. But here all of us are surrounded by this non-stop deluge of Coronavirus chatter and info and graphs and warnings and on and on. It seems relentless and overwhelming. I have found myself at times almost angry for various reasons. I wonder if those in power are doing the right thing. Here in Jamaica (as of this writing) there are currently 73 known infections and 4 deaths in a country of almost 3 million. Only essential businesses are open and this has been going on for over a month. This past holiday weekend we had a 3:00pm curfew. I couldn’t get anyone to explain why other than “it’s a holiday.” But Jamaica is not unusual. There is real fear here with many wearing masks when they go out though in our parish there hasn’t been a single reported case yet so I actually feel pretty safe.
So where am I going with this? (People often ask that when they read my blogs) I have to stop and remember that God is control. Faith is what conquers fear and uncertainty. Faith and trust in Him and His purpose and plan. Reality tells us that many of the things we are so worried about will never come true. And many of the things we obsess about we have no control over. I heard a good sermon yesterday about giving up control and surrendering your right to control. We can’t control so many things in our life and in those cases we need to just surrender them to God. We can’t control but we can always surrender!
What are you anxious about? My list goes something like this:
- COVID-19 but more specifically how and when do we begin the road to recovery and moving forward instead of being in retreat.
- My family – we are far away with no way to get home and like all of you we would love to just gather our loved ones and protect them.
- The children’s home and the boys – there is one specific thing which has me nervous but all I can do is ask you to pray about this unknown and uncertain thing – and as always we continue to want these boys to grow in the Lord.
- The political unrest and the multitude of conspiracy theories which have flooded the internet. Who knows what to believe anymore?
I could list more but you get the idea. I’m sure you have a list as well but in uncertain times we turn to a certain God who holds the world in the palm of His hand.
Rather than give you several verses about fear I wanted to pass on this handy little list. Hopefully you will hang onto it and the promises we find in God’s word.
