In 1918 the world underwent what was called the most severe pandemic in recent history—the
Influenza Pandemic, also known as the Spanish Flu. The CDC reported that about 1/3 of the
world’s population became infected with the virus and about 50 million died worldwide. Here it
is, over a century later, the world is once again facing another pandemic- the Corona Virus. This
highly infectious disease has taken the lives of many around the globe. It ravished our homes,
our communities, and our nation leaving many devasted and feeling hopeless. At a time when
we need to come together, we were forced to distance ourselves from our families, friends,
coworkers, and places of worship. While our nation was dealing with this severe pandemic, we
were also forced to deal with an endemic of political upheaval and social unrest. We are still
face with these troubling challenges today.
Nelson Mandela once said, “Disasters will always come and go, leaving their victims either
completely broken or steeled and seasoned and better able to face the next crop of challenges
that may occur.” The Bible lets us know that in this world, “trouble times” is inevitable, but we
must not lose heart (John 16:33). However dark our world may be and the challenging we must
face in this life, the Lord encourages us not to lose heart. The question is, how do we avoid
losing heart in the midst of so much brokenness?
1) Our faith in the Lord must remain
anchored. We must believe that God loves and cares for each of us and he is ever present in our
lives. In his infinite wisdom, God designed a perfect plan to bring those who continue to live a
faithful life towards him to a state of absolute peace and harmony, a life without continuous
troubles and chaos. Jeremiah 29:11 tells us, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares
the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” This
promise was directed to God’s people who were living in captivity in Babylon around 600 B.C,
but it still holds true for us today. God does have a plan to give his people hope and a future. He
will once again gather his people back to himself. This is why Christ came to die for the sin of
the world, (see 2 Corinthian 5:19) so we can make it back to perfect harmony with God.
2) We must continue to focus on Him. Staying focus is hard to do with so many distractions
around us: social media, television, and the everyday hustle and bustle of life, yet we cannot
allow ourselves to lose focus on God. To keep our focus, we must a) continue to read and
meditate on his word, b) spend quality time with the Lord in prayer, c) fellowship with other
sincere believers so that you will find strength and encouragement from one another. The
apostle Paul explains that, “we are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed,
but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed…” (2 Corinthians
4:8-9).
3) We need to keep a positive attitude. Staying focus can be difficult to manage, so is keeping a
positive attitude in troubled times. We often become stressed and anxious when we are force
to deal with unwanted circumstances in life. Keeping a positive attitude means choosing to be
optimistic in challenging times, rather than being pessimistic. It means encouraging yourself
with positive thinking. Philippians 4:8 tells us, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true,
whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is
admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
I believe when our thoughts are positive, our faith grows stronger in the Lord, and the lesser we
are distracted by the boisterous winds and waves of life. Then, our hope in God is anchored.
Jesus, warns his disciple in John 16:33, that in this world they will have troubles, but then he
encouraged them not to lose heart. Jesus was very much acquainted troubles; he suffered
greatly at the hands of evil people. He is quite aware that in this life there will be tragedies,
natural disasters, diseases, and deaths. These are the troubles of the fallen world which we live
in. But if we keep our faith in God, focus on him, and keep a positive attitude, we too can
overcome this world like Jesus did. God’s plan to bring us to eternal harmony will come to pass.
We must continue to believe in Him.
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