Mass Panic, Costco-Runs, and the Love of Jesus
I arrived thirty minutes before the doors opened. The line snaked around the building. I grabbed a buggy (yes, I’m from the South) and joined the pandemic-crazed parade.
At 10 a.m. we funneled into Costco like it was an amusement park. But there was no fun here, only distress.
As I mentioned, I live in the South, so everyone was polite. Voices echoed, “Excuse me,” and “Sorry,” while people darted in front of others and yanked products off shelves. It was clear that we all wanted to get in, get what we needed, and get out!
A tense atmosphere filled the room as people kept their distance, eying each other and wondering, Do they have the coronavirus?
Mass panic is upon us. We’re depleting the shelves of our stores, but we’re also consuming the resources of our souls.
THE FEAR BEHIND HOARDING
If I were to ask you if you’re afraid right now, you would most likely answer, "Yes!" We fear a shaky economy, the mysterious nature of the coronavirus, the uncertainty of it all.
Most folks boil their fear down into terms of anxiety. Quarantine coping skills flutter around the internet in an attempt to calm the inner storm. We may even read verses like 1 John 4:18, thinking Jesus will cleanse our fear along with its unhealthy toxins.
Now, I’m not knocking coping skills—I’ve used some myself. But I do question if our fear is best described in terms of anxiety right now.
For example, is anxiety causing us to pillage grocery stores and stockpile our kitchens? Or is something deeper driving our hoarding? Are coping skills what we most need?
The coronavirus spotlights the fear hidden deep in our souls and reveals our delusions of control. And fear seeks to control—it always has.
Rather than rest in God's control, fear leads us to grope for mastery over our circumstances. So what do we do when the situation is out of control? We buy more toilet paper. We hoard to feel safe. We act out Olaf’s proverb from Frozen 2: “We’re calling this ‘controlling what you can when things feel out of control.’”
Anxiety isn’t our sickness; it’s a symptom. Anxiety grows in the pit of the stomach as we strain to control the uncontrollable.
The primary problem with applying the balm of more control onto the pain of fear is that we only exacerbate the illusion that we’re in control. White-knuckling doesn't ease our distress; it generates more.
The coronavirus has shown many of us that we don’t have the inner resources to cope with this scary world. So what hope do we have?
THE LOVE OF JESUS
Trapeze artists amazed Henri Nouwen. Initially, he thought the flyer was worthy of all the praise. Upon further consideration, though, Nouwen realized the catcher is the real star of the show.[i]
The flyer fearlessly flips and twists through the air because he’s confident he will be caught. For Nouwen, the spiritual implications came crashing home, and we would do well to bring his reflection into our control-seeking hearts as well.
When we trust that God will catch us—that He will hold us fast in Christ Jesus—then the world no longer looks so scary. We find in Christ an eternal safety net in the face of death. We can flip and twist our way through the coronavirus (and any other threat) because our confidence doesn’t rely on our grasp of the situation, but upon God’s grip on us.
In this way, “perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18). The Father and Son hold us firmly, so we're free from fear and free from our obsessive need to control the uncontrollable (see John 10:28–29).
The antidote to our fear is faith. Resting in God's love produces trust. We need the convictions of the Apostle John, to say together, “So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” (1 John 4:16).
Fear tempts us to sit in our homes, drowning in worry over job security, sickness, and an uncertain future. But faith announces a hope-filled truth: The love of Jesus is our safe home. Thankfully, our quarantine can become a sacred space to rest in—abide in—Jesus’ love.
ABIDING IN GOD’S LOVE
What could abiding in God’s love practically look like in the days ahead? Here are a few suggestions.
First, incorporate digital fasting into your new routines. Studies prove that too much screen time and social media produce anxiety. If we’re going to rest in God’s love, then we have to intentionally give our screens a break. I echo the encouragement of others to fast from technology for at least one hour a day and one day a week.
Second, replace your screen time with still time. Romans 5:3–5 is appropriate for this cultural moment: “We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Don’t be afraid to ask the Holy Spirit to give you this promise. Sit in stillness. Ask the Spirit to pour the Father’s love into your heart.
Third, sit in stillness with Scripture. In your stillness, slowly read and chew on Scripture about God’s love. Allow your mind to wander to your circumstances and turn the words into prayers for your life. Here are a few suggested passages: Jer. 31:3, Ps. 86:15, John 15:13, Rom. 5:8, Rom. 8:37–39, 2 Cor. 5:14–15, Gal. 2:20, and Eph. 2:4–5.
Finally, sit in the loving presence of God. After reflection and prayer, choose a meaningful word or phrase from the verse, like “Christ loved me” (Gal. 2:20), or “You are abounding in steadfast love" (Ps. 86:15). Replay this phrase in your mind and ask the Spirit to help you sit in God’s loving presence. When finished, thank God for the time and carry this phrase into your day, remembering that God’s loving presence is always with you, no matter what you face (Josh. 1:9; Matt. 28:20).
PEACE OVER PANIC
Maybe you’re feeling anxious like I did that day in Costco. Perhaps you can’t shake your feelings of fear these days. What you need now is what you’ve always needed—to ground yourself in the loving presence of God.
On the cross, it may seem the Father let his Son plummet into death’s grip. However, Jesus knew better. With his dying breath, he prayed, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!" (Luke 23:46). Jesus knew he could trust his Father; we can too. The fear of death has been replaced with love, and now the grasp of God won’t let you go.
Christian, rest in God's love. Let love transform you. And out of the overflow of God’s love for you, go and be a loving presence to a troubled world.
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love (1 John 4:18).
[i] From Turn My Mourning into Dancing: Finding Hope in Hard Times by Henri Nouwen
Rusty McKie (@RustyMcKie) is the founding and lead pastor of Sojourn Community Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He is a husband, father of three, and has contributed to The Gospel Coalition, Desiring God, and amicalled.com. He wrote Sabbaticals: How to Take a Break from Ministry before Ministry Breaks You.