God, I’m losing my mind
I find it interesting how certain events have a tendency to expand our vocabulary. I can’t recall using the words such “asympomatic,” “anecdotal ,” and “pandemic” so prolifically as in recent weeks. Covid-19, social-distancing, flatten-the-curve, safeat-home, and contact-tracing are terms I certainly won’t miss hearing or saying. Habits and behaviors changed in a matter of a single day. Handshakes and hugs have vanished. Curb-side pickup is all the rage. Eating home-cooked meals returns as a necessity. Online and drive-in church has emerged as a means of holding congregations together. Schools, governments, and businesses have been closed. Twenty-two million people have lost their jobs in a matter of a couple of weeks. Now, there are plans for how to “safely” open up our economy again.
This is MADDENING! It can be enough to drive a person batty (pun intended? You decide)!
There is much being written about the mental health of people during the pandemic. Issues such as anxiety, fear, depression, and loneliness top the list – as if these were not already present in society prior the coronavirus outbreak. If you are a Christ-follower, what do you do?
Among a number of passages in the Bible, 2 Corinthians 1:8-10 offers us some insight. First, it’s okay to express how you feel to those invested in your life. In verse 8, the Apostle Paul mentions a time when he was in such an intense situation that he “despaired even of life.” In his own effort, he could not control the situation, and he felt that there was no way out – he was going to die. You may feel the same way right now. You have lost control. You have depleted all your options. You have exhausted your mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual strength. Admitting you are at your wits end can actually be healthy. Holding it in and pretending to those around you can be the absolute worst approach to take.
Second, remember in whom we must trust. Verse 9 states, “that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead.” I heard a governor say a few days ago “that people, not God, are responsible for the fact that COVID-19 cases in his state have plateaued.” Yes, we must act wisely during this time, but to leave God out of the remedy will prove to be a disastrous move. People are fallible. People let us down. God never fails. God always prevails. God will not be mocked, nor will He be denied of the glory due Him (that’s for another article, though). Scripture commands to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and HE will make your paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-6). Verse 10 tells us to recall all the times God has delivered us, how He IS delivering us. Trust Him. He has brought you through many trying times, and He will get you through this one, too.
When you start feeling like the walls are closing in, or when you are losing your mind because you don’t know how to help your kid with that Calculus problem, or when you don’t know how you are going to make ends meet this month: talk to God about it, talk to those around you who love you, and lean on the Lord like you never have before – He has brought you through it, and He is bringing you through it.