COVID-19 Novel Encouragement Sample

Be Still and Know

1 God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.[c]
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
7 The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
8 Come and see what the Lord has done,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease
to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields[d] with fire.
10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
11 The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Psalm 46:1-11 (Emphasis added)

The last couple of weeks has produced a variety of emotions in all of us living in China. For many people, fear has been the dominant emotion. Some want to run. Others like to hideout. For myself, I tend to deal with the fear pretty well, and I don’t want to run away, but it’s the uncertainty that often wears me down. I’m a planner. I like to know what’s coming, which kid needs to be where and when, what my responsibilities are for next week, etc. I even try to plan who I’m going to help or encourage or serve tomorrow!

This situation doesn’t work too well for someone like me. I have no idea when this virus will be contained, or when I can visit my friends across town, or when Waimai delivery will come straight to my door again. When will life return to any semblance of normal? As I try to plan things out for the next few days or weeks, I feel helpless in my inability to accurately anticipate how my life will work. I often feel aimless, with no long-term plan to be working toward. Basically, these days in Beijing are taking a woman who likes to control her own life and showing me that I have no control at all. But, these out-of-control, no-end-in-sight days remind me that I’m really never in control at all, and I shouldn’t try to be.

In Psalm 46, a Psalm all about God being our fortress —our safe place— verse 10 says “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” God has this whole situation under control. He is the sovereign Creator of this world and absolutely nothing (even coronavirus!) is out of His hands. God is not worried about any spreading contagion, any closing airports, or any lack of supplies, but He is very much concerned for his own glory in this country, and He is concerned about my growth as His child. It’s easy for me to encourage others not to look for comfort and peace in doctors, masks, or hand sanitizer because I don’t struggle with those things.

I look for comfort in knowing what’s ahead and being able to plan for the future, but maybe God is trying to remind me that my comfort and my peace come simply from being still and resting in Him. Being still is so hard for me. I want to be doing something, working to find the solution, but no matter how hard I do or work or attempt to control, right now it is impossible for me to change the situation. So I have two choices: I can worry and stress about the future, or I can be still and know that He is God. I can read the news and try to predict when my mask can come off or when I can sit in a church service again, or I can just rest in the amazing truth that my God is sovereign right now, and He is being so good to me right now. The peace that comforts and calms my soul is only found in God my fortress.

Pray for today: Thank God today for the stillness, and pray that he be glorified in our waiting.

Therese Barron, Beijing