Take Heart: Courage and Faith for Today
The last ten days our world has turned upside down as sickness has swept the globe and impacted our own community. Andrew and I have friends and family overseas in Asia, and I was writing to one of them this morning about how wild it is to have this shared experience across nations and cultures. My voice here has been quiet as I have been processing it all, and if I am being honest, as I have been brokenhearted and mourning.
The first four days that we started social distancing at home were rough. Not because of life at home. But because my heart couldn’t bear the weight of the implications of it all. What the COVID-19 pandemic means for our nation’s most vulnerable breaks my heart.
Those who feel the pangs of hunger often are now further removed from reliable meals twice a day at school. Children who do not feel safe at home are even more vulnerable to abuse. The travel and hospitality industries are being brought to their knees, and countless other businesses are struggling to weather this storm on the economy. Friends have been let go from work and are now without benefits and pay. Medical equipment is running low and the staff are exhausted and risking exposure each time they step into the hospital. Surgeries are being cancelled and therapy appointments called off for so many families in this community. And our world is being exposed in unknown ways to this rapidly-spreading virus.
What does all of this mean for how I can best protect my family? How can I make a difference with such big problems facing us? The weight of these worries has been too much to carry.
At my lowest moment, the Lord in His kindness reminded me that my role is not to carry the weight of the world, nor is it my role to save the world. This is not the first time that the Lord has spoken this truth. Jesus encouraged his disciples in his last days with them on earth with these words, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
The peace we find in Him is unlike anything else the world can offer us in these moments. As I turned my eyes to Scripture and to the mighty God who we serve, my heart began to lighten. The pain and sadness for those we love did not go away, but the Lord began to carry the weight of it for me.
Handing over the burdens of my heart has meant turning off a constant stream of news. (Yes, I still check updates periodically to stay current and make wise choices!) It has been a process of opening Scripture throughout the day and letting that be the constant stream of what is going into my mind. It has meant asking God to show me his goodness and his character—and hope.
During this process I landed on these words that invite us all into God’s heart for us to draw near to Him in these days. John 7:37-38 says, “On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”
I love that Jesus did not share this truth quietly with those closest to him. It says that he literally “cried out in a loud voice” to all who would listen on this culmination day of the feast: “Come to me all who are thirsty and drink!” He desires all whose heart is not satisfied in what the world offers to come and be satisfied in Him. And the promise? That whoever believes in him will be filled continuously with rivers of living water. What a picture of refreshment and satisfaction!
As we continue to journey through this season of unknowns, let’s accept the invitation that Jesus invites us all to: to rely on and trust in Him to carry what we cannot and to fill our minds not with consuming worries and fear, but with hope and faith.
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. (Psalm 147:3)