​Updated 3/14/20
 
Substituting prayer for panic
 by Glenda Mathes
 
The only thing spreading faster than COVID-19 is panic. News reporting and social media posts often spread alarm and confusion through sensationalism or conjecture. Panic purchasing empties stores of necessities such as bottled water, hand sanitizer, and toilet paper. On March 12, fear plunged the Dow Jones into its deepest dive since 1987. Major sports events and music concerts have been cancelled. Within a mile-wide containment zone in the New Rochelle suburb of New York City, attendance at schools, worship services, and other large gatherings has been prohibited. As of this writing, three states and some metropolitan areas are closing K-12 schools.
 
It can be difficult to discern between panic and precaution. Precautions are good and necessary, but Christians can be proactive about precautions without fueling personal fear or public panic.
 
As author Simonetta Carr stated on Facebook, “Our reason for not panicking is because we have a big God, not because we have a small threat. God is sufficient, no matter what comes our way.”
 
Information about the coronavirus changes daily, sometimes hourly. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (cdc.gov) provides up-to-date information about COVID-19 and its presence in the United States.
 
On March 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 as a pandemic. In his media briefing (text on WHO website), Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that pandemic “is not a word to use lightly or carelessly,” and that it “can cause unreasonable fear, or unjustified acceptance that the fight is over, leading to unnecessary suffering and death.”
 
He admitted, “We have never before seen a pandemic sparked by coronavirus.” But was quick to add, “And we have never before seen a pandemic that can be controlled, at the same time.”
 
He noted that 90 percent of the total cases are in only four countries, in two of which—China and the Republic of Korea—epidemics have “significantly” declined. He stressed, “We cannot say this loudly enough, or clearly enough, or often enough: all countries can still change the course of this pandemic.”
 
The General-Director wants to change the world’s focus. “There’s been so much attention on one word,” he said. “Let me give you some other words that matter much more, and that are much more actionable.” He listed Prevention, Preparedness, Public Health, Political leadership, concluding, “And most of all, people.”
 
While the Director-General’s call for calm cooperation resonates with Christians, we don’t look to public health organizations or political leaders for our help in times of trouble. We look to the Lord until he has mercy on us (Psalm 123:2). And we note the Director-General’s absence of the most crucial P word: Prayer.
 
Writing for the Washington Times on March 9, Tim Constantine urged readers, “Please stop the coronavirus hysteria. Now.” He contrasts the coronavirus with seasonal flu and describes many current reactions as “Total hysteria,” but the article’s subhead carries great weight: “Substitute prayer for the COVID-19 panic.”

In President Trump' address on March 13, he declared a national state of emergency and called for Sunday, March 15, to be a day of prayer.

At least two United Reformed Churches in California are facing cancellations. Oceanside URC posted on March 12 that the chapel where it meets is not available for worship due to the military academy closing its campus for the next two Sundays “in an effort to proactively prevent the spread” of COVID-19. A conference on eschatology, scheduled to meet at Oceanside’s facility on March 20-21 is being postponed. Also on March 12, Dr. Kim Riddlebarger announced on his blog that services at Christ Reformed Church in Anaheim would be cancelled for March 15 and 22, in light of the governor’s call to suspend public gatherings of more than 250 people.
 

​Reports from Italy describe the strain on medical resources with doctors facing difficult determinations (similar to wartime triage) about who should receive available care. Milan Missionary Rev. Mike Brown continues to preach via the internet as schools and churches in the entire country are now closed. On March 9, he reported on the Reformation Italy website that views of the sermons have spiked. “This is very encouraging and means that, with the spread of the Coronavirus in northern Italy, God is causing his Word to spread as well.”
 
On a March 13 Facebook post, Rev. Brown provided updated figures indicating that nearly 15,000 cases have been detected in Italy, most in the Lombardy region where he lives, with a death toll approaching 900.
 
“The numbers aren’t good,” he writes. “But our God is. And he has delivered us from a far greater threat, namely, the power of sin, the fear of death, and the judgment we deserve.” He urged, “Look to him for the remedy to a problem far greater than the pandemic of COVID-19.”

At least two United Reformed Churches in California are facing cancellations. Oceanside URC posted on March 12 that the chapel where it meets is not available for worship due to the military academy closing its campus for the next two Sundays “in an effort to proactively prevent the spread” of COVID-19. A conference on eschatology, scheduled to meet at Oceanside’s facility on March 20-21 is being postponed. Also on March 12, Dr. Kim Riddlebarger announced on his blog that services at Christ Reformed Church in Anaheim would be cancelled for March 15 and 22, in light of the governor’s call to suspend public gatherings of more than 250 people.
 
Reports from Italy describe the strain on medical resources with doctors facing difficult determinations (similar to wartime triage) about who should receive available care. Milan Missionary Rev. Mike Brown continues to preach via the internet as schools and churches in the entire country are now closed. On March 9, he reported on the Reformation Italy website that views of the sermons have spiked. “This is very encouraging and means that, with the spread of the Coronavirus in northern Italy, God is causing his Word to spread as well.”
 
On a March 13 Facebook post, Rev. Brown provided updated figures indicating that nearly 15,000 cases have been detected in Italy, most in the Lombardy region where he lives, with a death toll approaching 900.
 
“The numbers aren’t good,” he writes. “But our God is. And he has delivered us from a far greater threat, namely, the power of sin, the fear of death, and the judgment we deserve.” He urged, “Look to him for the remedy to a problem far greater than the pandemic of COVID-19.”