The Real Virus Is Fear

The NCoronaVirus-95 is wreaking deadly havoc around the world. Just yesterday in Barcelona, a city that has never had a case of the virus – they canceled the largest technology convention in the world. 100,000 attendees. The deadly coronavirus centered in Wuhan, China is affecting the entire world.

I walked through the Hong Kong airport last Monday, half-full restaurants, empty flights, and everyone was wearing a breathing mask. I had purchased a 3M N95 rated sanding mask at Lowe’s before I left Fort Worth. The flight attendant said to me, “That’s a really nice mask.” I said, “Thank you.” (The very first time I’ve been complimented on a wardrobe choice.)  But, I did wear it – and wiped down surfaces and used hand sanitizer every few minutes. Everyone I encountered was living in fear.

In our meetings in Vietnam this week they told me stories of entire villages that have closed their doors to outsiders, buildings that won’t let anyone enter and the news just reported that hundreds of thousands of schools are closed in over 60 nations. In a world in which over one million people die in car wrecks every year, we’ve shut everything down over a sinister and dangerous virus that has killed 1% of the people who have caught it … now just over 2,000 people.

While anyone dying of the virus is tragic - perhaps the coronavirus has actually disclosed something much deeper in our human frame … that we are easily captured by fear.

Luke spoke of fear in the context of the end times, but it speaks of any age, he said, “People will be so frightened that they will faint because of what is happening to the world.” Another translation says, “Men’s hearts will fail them because of fear …” (Luke 21:26) Fear can cause anxiety, apprehension, chaos, panic, and paralysis.

Job said, “What I greatly feared has come upon me.” (Job 3:25) Almost like a prophetic word over himself. Fear produced that which was feared. Fear has great power.

The theological opposite of fear is faith. But, the experiential opposite of fear is confidence. Jesus said, “And everything I’ve taught you is so that the peace which is in me will be in you and will give you great confidence as you rest in me. For in this unbelieving world you will experience trouble and sorrows, but you must be courageous, for I have conquered the world!” (John 16:33 TPT)

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The theological opposite of fear is faith. But, the experiential opposite of fear is confidence.

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The viral impact of fear hasn’t closed schools or shut down conventions – but it has closed our minds and shut down dreams.

In a situation that could breed great fear God and his friends consistently told Joshua, “This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9 NLT)

Be strong and courageous - that means – be filled with confidence! It was the Lord and Joshua’s friends that built up his confidence, his resolve and his courage.

Courage is the moral equivalent of confidence. Ambrose Redmoon said, “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than  fear.” Lance Witt, in his book Replenish, wrote this, “Looking back I realize there’s a correlation between my communion with God and my courage for God. The deeper my intimacy, the greater my tenacity to stand courageously.”

We defeat fear through faith in Christ. We find that faith becomes confidence through his Word. We access faith from the Lord and we then build courage in community.

Our prayer is that people will be healed of the coronavirus and that medical experts will discover the cure. But our greater prayer is that men will be discipled and set free of fear, filled with courage and live boldly with confidence.

“Everyone who call on the name of the Lord will be rescued and experience new life.” (Romans 10:13 TPT)

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