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What does it mean to be psychologically and spiritually healthy in the midst of crisis? We are living in a time that is unparalleled in human history. The entire world is nearly shut down. We are coming into Palm Sunday and Easter with nearly every church across the country closed in the midst of this pandemic, and as those of us who are Christ-followers move through this time along with the rest of the world, I find myself wondering if we look any different. Are we moving through this crisis looking just like everyone else, or are we relying on the One who is greater than all of this?

With that in mind, I want to share three basic points that are on my heart. A reminder, that we belong to a God who by name is God With Us.

First, COVID-19 didn’t catch Jesus by surprise. If we are going to look any different from the rest of the world in how we respond to our situation, we must start here. God is still good, He is still on His throne, and He is still in control – even when uncertainty grips us, we still have a God worth trusting, which He proved once and for all when He sent His Son for us. I know that doesn’t lessen what’s going on in our world. It simply puts it in the right perspective.

Second, we are called to be steadfast in this trial. By definition, steadfastness means unwavering or dutifully firm. We have a calling to stay the course in the midst of this uncertainty. Understand that as we endure, as we persevere, God uses that to grow us. It’s part of His process in completing who we are meant to be. At the same time, as we stand firm, our reaction shapes our character and reveals our hope – to ourselves and a world around us that might be running a little short on hope at the moment.

Third, this is a great opportunity to grow and demonstrate our resilience. In this, there are two main points to see. One, it is possible to grow resilience. It doesn’t matter what kind of background you come from or how you’ve fared in crises before today. Resilience can always be grown, if you choose to own it and grow it. Will it be easier for some than for others? Yes, but resilience is always growable. Two, growing resilience means developing a tolerance for ambiguity. I’m sure you have heard someone by now say that we are living in uncertain times. I think it goes beyond that. For many of us, we are redefining uncertainty. There is more change on a daily basis across our world than we have ever seen, making expectations null and void. As we rely on a God who is bigger than our circumstances, we find the source of hope we need to tolerate constant change and remain steadfast in the midst of crisis.

Don’t miss this opportunity. This isn’t just about survival. This is an opportunity to thrive. As we are in an unprecedented shutdown – nationwide – churches closed – we have the chance to demonstrate the power of the Gospel to a scared and dying world around us.

So, to help us stay centered on that point, I am going to post a short (~6 min.) devotional video on Monday mornings at 8:00 for the next six weeks (the end of the Spring semester). I will post the videos here with a bit of extra info, and they will be available as a playlist on YouTube. It will give us a chance to explore together what God has for us (really, what He’s already told us) for dealing with life’s curveballs.