With Coronavirus shutting down the country, people are looking for answers from the Bible and also preachers and pastors.
The daughter of late evangelist, Billy Graham has shared her opinion on what is going on currently in the country and in the world.
Anne Graham Lotz, author and preacher, said it feels as if the country “is being attacked by an invisible enemy seeking to destroy us.”
She said quoting from Luke 21:11, “There will be earthquakes, and there will be famines and plagues in many lands, and there will be terrifying things and great miraculous signs from heaven.” She also pointed to verse 28, which reads, “So when all these things begin to happen, stand and look up, for your salvation is near.”
We should, though, look at the verses that come before those passages. Earlier, Jesus told his disciples, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and saying, ‘The time has come.’ But don’t believe them. And when you hear of wars and insurrections, don’t panic’” (Luke 21:8-9).
Jesus ended by saying that all these things will happen before He returns, but made clear they aren’t signs of an imminent end.
Lotz who posted the blog post on social media said, and who is immunocompromised due to recent chemotherapy — said she is not much concerned about COVID-19, but more worried about the panic it has induced around the country.
With 7,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the U.S. and 110 people dying due to complications from it, Lotz said living in fear should not be our response.
She has shared her journey with breast cancer on social media and has encouraged people to look to God instead of people. “This is the time to look up from our knees! Let’s ask God to give us a fresh vision of Himself. Because, God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear,” Lotz wrote, referencing Psalm 46:1-2.
“This is a time to pray for ourselves, our families, our nation, and all those worldwide whose lives are being devastated by the death and disruption this disease is causing,” she later continued. “You and I need to make sure we are right with God so that we are ready to meet Him whenever the time comes.”
Another pastor, Paul David Tripp, explained recently that ‘healthy fear’ is OK. In fact, he described it as one of “God’s good gifts to us,” so long as we don’t become consumed by it.
“Giving way to fear is characterized by meditating on the trouble we are facing and forgetting God in the process,” he explained. “This fear reveals itself when we allow our minds and hearts to be controlled by what was initially appropriate concern.”