Rest, Quietness, and Trust During Fearful Times

Joshua Crawford

Fear of the virus, social distancing, and the economic fallout from all of it – the description of our feelings right now. When we’re fearful, we can’t turn to just anyone or anything for help. If we turn on the news and look to the facts alone, we’ll be bombarded with terms like death toll, pandemic, and shelter-in-place. If we talk to our friends and family, we’ll probably swap stories of our canceled social gatherings and long lines for toilet paper – not exactly an exercise in squashing fear. If we turn to social media, we’ll find a disturbing amount of fabricated stories and reports. Where should we turn?

Deep in the Old Testament, in the book of Isaiah, in the 30th chapter, God is telling His people how they’ll be overtaken by foreign foes, but He doesn’t want them to turn to Egypt for help. Remember, in the Bible, since the days of Moses, Egypt always represented slavery to the people of God. Additionally, Egypt wanted to befriend God’s people, but only for political purposes. While Egypt had lots of resources like chariots and weapons, God didn’t want them turning to anything or anyone that would ultimately cause them more harm – and this is true during the COVID-19.

Back then, in Isaiah 30:15, God declared, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength,” and the message is the same today. We shouldn’t turn to anything that causes us stress and panic; we only need to turn to Him, our place of rest, quietness, and trust. Right now, the idea of rest, quietness, and trust sounds so pleasant, doesn’t it? If we feel our hearts and minds wandering to that place of anxiety and fear, return to Him and find strength. Think of Him. Pray to Him. Rest in Him.