A lot has happened since my last blog post. On March 11th, 2020 I ended up going to the Cleveland Clinic here locally and being placed in an ICU with an initial diagnosis of pnemonia but later found out to be COVID-19 positive. I was isolated from my family for my entire stay and left to communicate only via video chat once I had come out of the medically induced coma. There is a whole lot more to the story which includes an 18-day hospital stay and 7 days being on a ventilator, but today in all of the chaos I want to focus on the feeling that kept trying to take me out. Fear.
Fear will make you think and do some crazy things. Especially in this time of uncertainy when a virus spreads across the world and is infecting thousands. We can get caught up in the news, the statistics and the stories. Even in to recovery, sometimes fear will try to tell me that something is happening in my body, when it isn’t. It will tell me I’m feeling fevered when the thermometer tells me I’m normal.
The bible is pretty clear on fear. Dueteronomy tells us in 3:18 “He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”. There are a ton of scriptures in the Bible that teach us what to fear. Unfortunately, we are still human and struggle with fear.
Can I encourage you to just step out of what is happening around the world for a minute? Turn off the news. Stop scrolling through Facebook and looking at the data. Instead, turn on some worship music and begin to pray over your family and your friends. Ask for God’s supernatural peace and I promise he will meet you there. Turn your focus away from this global pandemic and turn towards Him.
Now that you are at peace, take this time when the world has slowed down and really spend time with the ones around you. The one thing I learned while going through this is just how much in my life I had taken for granted and how truley blessed I was. Take some time and just sit with your husband or wife, catch up on what you might have missed. If you have kids in the home, break out the board games or puzzles. Have a family bible study and dive into the word and read about those who had fear and how they’ve dealt with it. Watch a movie as a family or reorganize those closets or cupboards like you’ve been wanting to.
During my ICU stay, I had actually allowed fear to almost overcome me. I didn’t think I had the strength or what it would take to keep fighting. I began to pray and invite God’s presence into that ICU room. When I opened my eyes, a letter that my wife had written that said “Our LATTER DAYS WILL BE GREATER.” and above that pictures of her and my two daughters, hung on the wall. It was in that moment, God’s overwhelming presence gave me peace in a situation which didn’t provide peace.
God didn’t send this virus into the world and despite what happens, he promises to always be with us. Take a deep breath and have a conversation with him. He tells us to cast our burdens on him so do that today. Cast your fear and anxiety on him and walk away knowing that no matter what happens, he will be with you. Fear doesn’t fix anything. Stay the course and lean in to Jesus Christ more now than ever and he promises to be with you even in the midst of a global pandemic.