“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).

We are facing challenging times right now with the incidence of the Coronavirus. Our dedicated Mission staff, as service providers in the generic sense, and as ministers in the spiritual sense, are called as never before to reflect the love of Christ to the neediest of people. We are called to serve vulnerable people who exhibit risky behavior and/or who have come out of potentially compromised environments.

We are inundated with news about the Coronavirus from every news source, and while it’s good to be informed, we need to be discerning about what we read and hear and how we respond. We must not forsake our calling, but we must be diligent and wise. Let me say that I don’t have all the answers. I’m listening and learning just like you are; however, I feel very confident about these things:

• Each of us must be diligent about following what we have learned from our Wellness initiatives about staying as healthy as possible – drink water, eat healthy foods, get plenty of sleep, get plenty of exercise. Stress-eating in front of the television or staying awake googling the latest news will not help us to stay strong.

• We should exercise caution about physical interactions with others—fist bump instead of shaking hands or hugging, for example.

• We must wash our hands properly and often; and keep our hands off our faces.

Second, we must trust that God is in this situation. I’ll digress for a moment to the other tragic event that occurred last week. I heard someone praying during a televised Metro Council meeting who said tat God was not in the tornados but was in the recovery. My friends, I do not believe this is completely true. We worship an all-powerful sovereign God. Our God is in everything. There is nothing that He has not created or ordained or has authority over.

This might surprise you but think about it. We might not want to think God is in the bad things that happen, but if we begin to separate out what God is in and what He is not in, how do we as created beings decide which is which? And do we want to worship a God who is only partly in control? Of course, we know that with the Fall, God has allowed Satan to work in this world; but ultimately, he is only here at the pleasure of God, and at the time ordained by God Satan will be destroyed.

We worship a sovereign God. He is in control; He is good; and he loves us. Romans 8:28 is true and we can trust that “All things work together for good for those who love the Lord and who are called according to His purpose.” We may not know the purpose for the occurrence of this disease, but we must be obedient to God’s word and that God’s ultimate good purpose will prevail.

For more on this topic, read here.

My message is not the Nashville Rescue Mission official response. The Mission has been proactive in researching and coming up with a prudent plan of action which we will learn about in due time and which I’m confident will be appropriate and comprehensive. In the meantime, let us remember and continue to be dedicated to our calling to serve the least of these, let us use this opportunity to communicate hope for today, tomorrow, and eternity to those we serve, and let us be comforted by these scriptures:

“Even though you planned evil against me, God planned good to come out of it” (Genesis 50:20 GW).

 “Even though I walk through the dark valley of death, because you are with me, I fear no harm. Your rod and your staff give me courage” (Psalm 23:4 GW).

 “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10 NIV).

“The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen” (2 Timothy 4:18 NIV).

In Christ,

Judy