From Fear to Sadness and Gloom

At first we watched from afar. We knew something was going on in China, but that was a long way away. Then, we heard murmurings of this threat that was becoming an international problem. There were the cruise ships, the travesty in Italy, and some scattered cases in the U.S. We were told to stop shaking hands, refrain from touching our faces, and to wash our hands repeatedly through the day.Then came social distancing orders, ramped up week by week. Schools closed. Restaurants closed. Churches closed. Before we knew it, most places, including Illinois, were under stay-at-home directives and the economy was shut down. Some of you lost jobs. Some of you lost businesses. Many of you lost retirement savings.At first, it produced stress and fear. Domestic squabbles increased, as people were forced to spend all of their time together in confined spaces. Long-term stress invariably wears us all down, and that fear has now morphed into discouragement and depression. The best way to describe many of you is 'sad.' You long for a face-to-face conversation with a friend, a hug, a sit-down restaurant, laughter at a neighborhood park, cheering at a sporting event, or just to go back to work.Maybe you can identify with the question David asked himself in Psalm 42:5, “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?”You’d think his answer should be obvious. He was in quarantine. His life was under threat. He was not not able to be with his family or his friends. He couldn't work his career. He was not able to worship at the Temple. Those are difficult things.But here’s how he answered himself, “Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God. My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember you” (Psalm 42:5-6).We wear down over time, trying to deal with loneliness (even while surrounded by people in close quarters), trying to juggle working from home while home-schooling kids (for the first time), or longing to just sit in a local restaurant. We wear down because we lose sight of the future. We lose hope.And that’s why David says, “Hope in God.” He knows in his heart that the Lord will not abandon him. But he needed to say it out loud. I think he needed to hear himself say it.So if sadness has set in, do what David did. Remind yourself (maybe out loud) that this too shall pass. God has things under control. This is not the end of the world, and even if it were, that would also be ok. Because the God we are hoping in, is the God of our salvation.