The virus faded from the front page, but anxiety just found new targets to latch onto. The headlines change, but the cure remains the same: stop running on your own power and start feeding the right wolf.
I ran across something I wrote during the dark, early days of the Covid outbreak. Remember those headlines?
The News (2020): “US returns to 1,000 coronavirus deaths in a day… officials warn pandemic will only get worse.”
The News (2020): “Covid Fear Will Keep the World in a Slump.”
Back then, we thought if we could just get past the virus, the fear would vanish. But here we are, years later. The virus has faded from the front page, but the anxiety hasn’t. It just found new things to latch onto: the economy, our grandkids’ future, the anger in our politics.
The headlines change, but the cure remains exactly the same.
God (Eternity): Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. (John 14:27)
God (Eternity): Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (Philippians 4:6-7)
Folks, I cannot add anything to God’s Word, but I would like to offer advice on how to apply this to the worries we are facing right now.
Commands, Not Suggestions
First, we must recognize that these passages are commands. We are told “do this” and “don’t do that.”
We often hear people say, “I can’t help how I feel.” I have two responses to that:
God would not command you to do something you cannot do.
Faith does not call us to think humanly.
Running on Batteries
I am typing these words on a battery-powered notebook computer. It claims I have two hours of power left, but experience tells me that is a wildly optimistic estimate.
As the battery edges toward failure, the system screams warnings at me, begging me to plug into a power source. That is the way I suggest you look at your heart.
If you read the headlines—whether it’s about a virus in 2020 or inflation today—and feel distressed, recognize that as a warning light. You are running on your own power, and you are running low.
Plug In
When that light blinks, you have to plug in. For me, that means listening to the Psalms. I happen to prefer the audio version read by David Suchet (yes, the guy who played Poirot), but use whatever works for you.
Stop everything. Close your eyes. Let the words wash over you. This is the only way to recharge a battery that the world is constantly draining.
The Two Wolves
I will leave you with the old story about a Cherokee elder teaching his grandson about life.
“A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy. “It is a terrible fight between two wolves. One is evil–he is fear, anger, envy, sorrow, and arrogance.”
“The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you–and inside every other person, too.”
The grandson thought about it for a minute and asked, “Which wolf will win?”
The old man replied, “The one you feed.”
If we are full of anxiety today, we are feeding the wrong wolf. We are staring at the headlines instead of the Heavens.
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. (Proverbs 4:23)
