VIENNA, Austria, March 16, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – It’s a calm Sunday in Austria. All weddings, baptisms, social gatherings, Bible studies, and prayer services are canceled. On Monday, every store must be closed, except for the necessities of life – grocery stores and pharmacies. We are to only leave our homes if life depends on it – ourselves or someone in need. However, we can go for a run – alone.
Just a week ago, everything was going on as normal. I was planning on flying from Vienna to Geneva on Friday to help students start pro-life groups and get back just in time on Monday for an evening birthday party with friends.
Over the past couple of days of uncertainty and chaos, God has put a few things on my heart – my brokenness, my need to spend time listening and growing with God and living out more fully the love He has shown us.
It usually takes something drastic to humble us – losing a job, sickness, a broken relationship, or being in quarantine. We finally recognize in these moments that we aren’t in control.
My fame, my goals, my dreams aren’t important. Life isn’t about me. Only once we deeply understand this, are we able to, from a place of openness and brokenness over our own sin – whether pride, selfishness, or something else – seek the true purpose of our presence here on earth. And it’s not about us.
It’s about his glory. If we are healthy, we should be happy, not because we’ve somehow managed to fend off a dreadful virus, but because God has given us another day of health. If we are sick, know that God holds us in his hands.
It’s not about sharing on Facebook the amazing stories of the seniors we bought groceries or even the people we shared the gospel with. It’s about God.
It’s not about our career, flying from here to there, or living out our dreams. Our job and any positions of leadership or power are simply a gift from God.
Maybe you take pride in creating the best fresh meals for your family. Even this is a gift.
And this time of lockdown is also a gift. Don’t waste it.
Seek God and listen. Be broken before him. Worship him. Pray.
Pray for revival in the hearts of all who do not yet know him. Pray for revival in Europe, arguably the most unreached continent on the globe.
Yes, churches may be closed. But if we believe in Jesus, we have God’s Holy Spirit in us (John 7:37-39). We can spend this time with God, in the stillness of our home – seeking, finding, and loving Jesus. Rediscovering him and how he wants to use us for his glory, not our own.
If we believe in Jesus, we have no reason to fear. Someone has already taken care of our spiritual virus by his death and coming back to life, setting us free to a new life, daily transformed by him. “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). To live is Christ, to die is gain.
But those without Jesus do have reason to fear. Their eternal destiny is uncertain. In a time when everyone is panicking, conversations about hope and life after death come rather naturally. It’s an opportunity we must take. Their life depends on him.
We have many family and friends who know us, but they don’t yet know the One who we are here to represent. We might have felt that it was too awkward to say something or that they’d get upset. But as believers in Jesus, we are God’s ambassadors. We’re not here to get Instagram likes or for our friends to think we’re cool. We’re here to spread love, hope, and happiness, amidst a world filled with anxiety, pain, suffering and death.
This isn’t new. Three weeks ago, there were still people struggling with depression, fear, hopelessness, isolation, illness, and at the brink of death. Yet suddenly the entire developed world is screeching to a halt, over a new cause of death. Because life is valuable. And it’s valuable because we’re all here for a greater purpose than ourselves.
For many of us, the next few weeks are a gift of rest and peace. Don’t waste them. Put on the full arm of God, so that we can withstand the even greater challenges approaching. Let’s seek Jesus, be broken over own our arrogance and selfishness, and embrace his love. Then take courage and share it with those around us.