In this my 3rd post motivated by the coronavirus I have deliberately tried to stay away from strong pronouncements about what we should do. These have not been especially "medical" posts. There are plenty of those. This blog is a place where I think out loud. Maybe my thoughts will change over time. They often have.
In my first post I stated that we simply do not have enough data to predict with any accuracy what will happen in the U.S. as the virus spreads. This is still true. Though we have many more cases confirmed, we still cannot really know what the hospitalization or mortality rate of this virus will turn out to be. More time and more cases and more testing are needed.
In my second post I stated we need to strike a balance between health, economy and personal freedom. The balance is hard to find. But I do continue to question that an extended and mandatory closing of non-essential businesses is the right approach. I continue to point out that this strategy is being promoted entirely by those who have virtually nothing to lose by this method. Medical people are not out of work. Politicians are not out of work. The media are not out of work. I only point out that it is at least reasonable and fair to question the "balance" of this when it is being enforced by those who are not financially impacted by the rules. Have we polled the 3.28 million individuals who applied for unemployment this past week? It appears many more people have lost their jobs than lost their health from this virus so far.
Today I'm thinking about all the distress and fear that COVID-19 has caused. And a verse that I read gave me something comforting to think on. In particular, this post was prompted by Psalm 125:1 which reads "Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever."
The Psalmist begins with a comparison. Comparisons are helpful tools for teaching. To compare two things is usually to say "this" (some new thought or idea) is like "that" (something well-known and understood). We see this all the time in the Bible. The Book of Psalms, for example, opens by saying that the man who "delights in the law of the Lord" can be compared to a "tree, planted by rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season." Do you want to be fruitful? Do you want to be spiritually healthy? "Delight in the law of the Lord."
The comparison in Psalm 125:1 is another such teaching tool. The Psalmist is saying that "God-trusting people" are like Mount Zion which is stable, firm, unshakable and immovable. They "cannot be moved." Those who trust the Lord stand firm. Those who trust the Lord are on sure ground. Those who trust God aren't shaken by circumstances. You could sooner move Mount Zion than you can move the man that trusts the Lord.
But in what sense is it said of these people that they "cannot be moved"?
Well, surely it is not that their opinions "cannot be moved." Opinions change. Thinking changes. Paul says "when I was a child, I thought like a child." But that changed. He grew up. Opinions change.
Surely it cannot be that our physical location "cannot be moved." We move all the time. Christ Himself moved from town to town and sent His disciples to move and spread out and bring the gospel to all nations.
In what sense, then, is it true that those who trust in the Lord "cannot be moved?"
What the Psalmist seems to have in mind is safety. He is saying that those trusting in God cannot be moved away from or outside of His protection. Those trusting in the Lord have His promised protection, such that no enemy can so much as touch them without the express permission of God. The verse immediately following verse 1 says that "the Lord surrounds His people." Christian - God Himself surrounds you. What can possibly harm you?
Are you in Christ? You are more safe than you can possibly know.
I'm reminded of that episode in the life of Elisha where he prayed for the Lord to open the eyes of his servant to see the great company of horses and fiery chariots all around. But the situation for the Christian is even better than this. God Himself surrounds you. Nothing can take you out of that circle of His protection. No, nothing, not even the coronavirus. Believer - you "cannot be moved."
No wonder this short Psalm ends with "Peace be upon Israel!"
How can we not be at peace when Christ has promised to "never leave us or forsake us"? How can we not be at peace when "neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing [virus' included], shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39).
Christian, I cannot make it any more plain than the text itself. God surrounds you. You are safe. You are secure. And as a mountain which cannot be moved, so you cannot be moved outside of the His protection. You are in the very hand of God. No one can snatch you away. You are in the fold of the Good Shepherd, and no one can steal His sheep.
But, my dear reader, note that this promise of Psalm 125:1 does have 1 very important limitation. Note that it only belongs to believers. It is exclusively given to "those who trust in the Lord." They, and they alone, "cannot be moved."
Do you trust Him? If not, your current place of imagined protection is going away. You will be taken out of it. You will be moved. Your sense of safety is temporary. Sadly, everything you count on for peace will one day be gone. Your money will go, your health will go, your friends will go, your peace will go, your life will go. Every protection you have surrounded yourself with will be gone. Then what will you do? Yes, you will be moved. The Psalmist himself in this very Psalm acknowledges this, saying ominously, "the Lord shall lead them away (vs. 5)." You will be moved from life to death, from death to judgement, and from judgment to hell itself.
The application is simple: trust in the Lord. Those who do are under the protection of the Almighty, and "cannot be moved."
Do you trust Him?
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