Let This Pandemic Change How We Think
If we could divorce the threat of the coronavirus to our health and wellbeing from its ability to impact the entire planet, we’d have to admit how impressive it is.
Many dream of being cultural influencers and world-changers but lack the power to achieve those dreams. But this tiny, infective agent has captivated the world’s attention and completely altered the way we carry out our daily lives.
The coronavirus is, in some respects, magnificent. It has the power to disrupt global travel, topple economic markets, eliminate public events, incite panic, produce wariness, and create distrust. What’s more, it’s not only changing the way we live, it’s changing the way we think, too. It’s creating a new reality we must navigate that causes us to reconsider, reimagine, and reshape our perspectives.
Right now, we have an opportunity to change how we think for the better, beginning with thinking humbly.
THINK HUMBLY
Napoleon Hill, author of one of the ten best-selling self-help books of all time, Think and Grow Rich, writes, “You are the master of your destiny. You can influence, direct and control your own environment. You can make your life what you want it to be.”
Mr. Hill apparently never lived through a pandemic.
One of the great truths the coronavirus exposes is that we’re not in control. Confronting our fragility—our vincibility—is humbling. In affluent societies, we’re often prone to cavalier living and dismissive thinking. But a global pandemic easily crushes such arrogance. The coronavirus challenges the foolish thinking that we’re immune to unpredictable circumstances.
“We are, in fact, not the masters of our fate.”
We are, in fact, not the masters of our fate. We’re submissive to God and his sovereign activity. He makes success and creates calamity (Isa. 45:7). He’s all-powerful, and we are at his mercy in all things. He is good, and his steadfast love endures forever (Ps. 107:1).
This knowledge should prompt our hearts to worship our Creator, who holds the world together (Col. 1:17). As we’re forced to confront our weakness, may God transform our thinking. May we think humbly, and may the Lord forgive us for thinking we are our own masters.
THINK GLOBALLY
Our world seems small right now as we’re subjected to telecommuting, online learning, social distancing, quarantines, and internet sermons. Despite this temporary confinement, our awareness of global events grows daily. We’re a small part of a larger whole. We’re members of a larger community. Coronavirus is forcing us to think globally.
I’m curious about the latest numbers coming out of Italy and India. My family is talking about what events are being canceled around the world. We’re eager for news from other cultures. How are they faring? Are there any new scientific discoveries? How is the church being impacted? We’re interested in the welfare of others around the world. We’re reconsidering how we love our neighbors.
“Let’s not forget those across the street and around the world.”
Jeremiah told the Jewish exiles in Babylon to “Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare” (Jer. 29:7). We can identify with these exiles, to some degree. We’ve been separated from everything and everyone outside our homes. But let’s not forget those across the street and around the world.
As our confinement creates an awareness of our worldwide community, may we think globally, seeking the welfare of all its citizens.
THINK ETERNALLY
Crisis creates opportunity. In this coronavirus pandemic, churches are encountering people forced to acknowledge a set of factors they’re wholly uncomfortable with—a new and unwanted reality. They’re looking for someone to help them through this crisis.
Let’s meet these unpredictable days with the comfort of the unchanging God. In these uncertain times, let’s be heralds of the promises of Scripture. Let’s remember and proclaim that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Rom. 10:13).
“Let’s meet these unpredictable days with the comfort of the unchanging God.”
God will supply all our needs according to his glorious riches in Christ (Phil. 4:19). We must trust wholeheartedly in the LORD and not rely on our own understanding (Prov. 3:5). He will never leave or forsake us (Heb. 13:5). The sufferings of this present time aren’t worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed to us (Rom. 8:18).
Let’s think eternally by setting our minds on things above and not on the things of earth (Col. 3:2). Let us not be conformed to this world, but transformed by the renewal of our minds (Rom. 12:2). With thoughts aimed heavenward in glad anticipation of our eternal home, we won’t be anxious about anything, but we’ll pray to God about everything (Phil. 4:6–7).
LET’S BE GOOD THINKERS
The powerful coronavirus can do many things. What it can’t do is erase God’s Word or its power. And it can’t dismantle the church. Though the virus’s impact is significant, it’s temporary. Global pandemics, though rare, are not new (Eccl. 1:9). And no matter what happens, God still reigns on the throne.
Yes, the world is changing. It always does. And we must change with it—not just our actions, but our thinking, too.
May we exult in Christ and the greatness of his salvation as we recognize our smallness. May we reimagine neighbor love in the age of coronavirus. And may we trust in our good Father and entreat others to do likewise.
In the age of the coronavirus, let’s be good thinkers. Let’s think humbly, globally—and most importantly—eternally.
Father, we pray, “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom” (Ps. 90:12). Let our wise hearts produce good thinking.
Christy Britton is the content editor for Acts 29. She’s a member of Imago Dei Church in Raleigh, North Carolina, and serves as the discipleship coordinator. She’s married to Stephen, and they’re raising four boys together. You can follow her on Twitter.