An unseen enemy has paralyzed our world.

Most of us can’t see COVID-19, but we see the results. The possibilities and potential for harm. We see what the spirit of fear has done in our nations and communities. In our minds and hearts.

But the reality is that most of us aren’t really afraid of a virus. We’re afraid of dying—the ultimate unknown.

The hope of a Christ follower, however, is not in this world. It is in the world to come. We grieve deeply when we lose our sisters and brothers, our family and friends, but God does not give us this terrible spirit of fear. Instead His spirit is one of power, love, and a sound mind.

Right now the world is starving for soundness of mind. For power against the unseen and unknown. We see it in the closed signs on our shops, the shuttered doors of our schools. We see it on the toilet paper aisle in every grocery store as if the hoarding of paper products will give us power over our circumstances. As if somehow we are in control.

We’re not in control, but we have the tremendous honor, the privilege, of being able to connect with the one who is ultimately in control of our future. Of the one who has mansions prepared in His father’s world where there is no sorrow or tears, no viruses or starvation, no pain or suffering, no crashing retirement funds or lost wages or empty shelves.

Our world is starving for hope beyond today and resolute love in the midst of this fear. For community beyond our screens and an undying hope in things to come.

"I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the wonderful future he has promised to those he called. I want you to realize what a rich and glorious inheritance he has given to his people."

This is what Paul prayed two thousand years ago for the church in Ephesus. It is what I am praying for my fellow sisters and brothers who have chosen to follow Christ. And I am praying that during this worldwide void when our business and busyness have been stripped away, when entertainment becomes shallow and a screened community no longer satisfies, that we will listen to this quiet call on our hearts. That we collectively can experience hope in an unseen God working in the midst.

A dear friend passed into the next life a few weeks ago with one final word—PARADISE. This plague is unprecedented, uncharted, but we, as Christians, do not have to be afraid. Like my friend, we have a glorious inheritance waiting for us in paradise.

Instead of fear, I pray for a flood of light and generosity and grace in our world. That we would embrace the promise that He has a wonderful future planned, in community, for all who trust in Him.