Peace in the Midst of Crisis
Just a couple of weeks ago many of us, myself included, were rolling our eyes at the thought of this virus causing this magnitude of a disruption to our daily lives. I remember when the outbreak first became significant in China and there were murmurings of the potential of this outbreak to become significant to the point of nationwide quarantines, children attending school virtually from home, and adults either working from home or being temporarily out of work. People blamed political motivation, said the virus was “not that bad”. I thought, naturally, “that will never happen to us”, or “it could never get that bad in the United States”… and then it did.
I have found myself in the past few days longing for the things I was once so tired of, things I prayed for a break from. The school morning rush, the safety and security of going to the same job every day, going to the grocery store without having to wonder if the essentials are sold out… suddenly these daily inconveniences seem like forever ago… like they were “the good ole days”. I have found myself wishing and praying for that sense of normalcy to return.
But I have begun to wonder, and to question… has my faith and sense of security been so wrapped up and entangled in the world, without even realizing it?
If you have been a Christian and attended church for any number of years, you have likely learned about the wise man who built his house upon a rock and the foolish man who built his house upon the sand. The storm came, the foolish man was left homeless, and the wise man’s house stood strong. The lesson being that Jesus should be our rock, our strong foundation.
We’re in the middle of a huge storm right now, one that many of us, if you’re like me, thought “that will never happen here”. And suddenly I’m left wondering if I’ve been “building my house on the sand” without even realizing it. There is no time like a crisis to sit down and do some true reflection on where our priorities have been.
Most of us have heard of the fight or flight response, but few of us realize how powerful that response can be. Fight or flight is a response that happens in the amygdala of the brain and is sort of a “leftover” response from the days of yore… back when people were put in true life or death situations on a daily basis and needed their brain to go into fight or flight to save their life. The response has stuck around in our brain for centuries even though the need for it has decreased; we are no longer face to face with a bear or have to worry about being killed on a regular basis… we have homes and vehicles with locked doors… we are generally a great deal safer. So, the problem with this response is that it is still initiated when we become afraid, but the nature of the response is overkill. So our bodies are left with an increase of activity in the amygdala and nothing to do with it, hence heart-racing anxiety. For those of us who become afraid easily, and regularly, the regular initiation of fight or flight can lead to a build-up of gray matter in the amygdala, so now our brains have actually become re-wired to panic, fear the worst, and then it becomes much more difficult to shake this type of anxiety.
The thing is, though, we’re not talking normal, everyday fears that can lead to this type of panic and anxiety. We’re talking about fear that takes the form of expecting the worst, thinking the worst, in situations during which we have no logical reason to even believe the worst will actually happen… and it usually doesn’t happen. The nature of the way some of us panic is sending our brain the message that it needs to go into “fight or flight” when the trigger may be something as simple as getting an email from your boss that he needs to speak with you, or perhaps anticipating the worst about your health or a relationship when there is nothing logical or factual to base it on.
So I get back to the true significance of where we place our trust. There are true consequences to fear, on a biological level. And what leads to fear? No, it is not the external stimuli. It is the way we RESPOND to and PERCEIVE the stimuli. Our thoughts directly trigger a response from our brain, whether the thought is “I’m ok, God is in control”, or “I’m afraid, I don’t know what will happen, what if I lose my job and can’t afford to live and will never recover from this…”. Anxiety can and does change the way our brain functions.
If we have truly placed our faith and trust in the promises of God, if we really believe that He will never leave us or forsake us, that we can take heart because He has overcome the world, that we can be strong and courageous and fear nothing because He goes before us… that is where we find that peace that passes all understanding.
Sin impacts our life so much more than what we realize, and God knows what we need on a depth so much greater than we can sometimes even comprehend. Our brains come equipped with what it thinks is the perfect protection against fear… but more often than not it only leaves us paralyzed. Our flesh wants to be afraid, our thoughts want to anticipate the worst in some desperate attempt for self-preservation and survival. This is why faith is so, so important yet so difficult to sustain. With faith we have trust, we have peace, yet our flesh is constantly telling us it would be better to be afraid. How many times do we think we know what is good for us better than God does until we suffer the consequences and wish we had made a different decision?
With the uncertainty happening in today’s world, levels of fear and panic are sure to skyrocket… but they don’t have to. Let’s all use this time as a way to reflect and ensure that we have truly “built our house upon the Rock”, that we truly trust God like we say we do every Sunday. And if we find that we haven’t been, let’s pray, call on our church families to pray with us, and find our way back to where we need to be with the Lord.
If you find you are struggling with fear and anxiety, I encourage you to pray and meditate daily, it is truly one of the best defenses against thoughts who want to turn to fear. Respond to your fear with words of affirmation from Scripture. Find someone to talk to, openly and honestly, without feeling the need to put on a front or a brave face. I’d be happy to be that person for you. This is a time when we need to lean on each other more than ever.
I am so, forever thankful for a God who will always take us back with open arms with an unconditional, everlasting love.
“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” Isaiah 26:3
