Faith or Fear? Trusting God in the COVID-19 Age
Faith or Fear? Trusting God in the COVID-19 Age by Dr Lewis Winkler
Since the Covid-19 virus impacted Asia long before the rest of the world, we’ve been living under various restrictions here in Singapore for over a month now. It’s given me some time to reflect on life, death, and seeking a greater faith in God.
The fact is, apart from the second coming of Jesus Christ, we will all die someday. The only question is, how and when? As Christians, we really shouldn’t fear death, although most of do if we’re honest. And I confess, I am by nature a fearful person. Although I became a Christian very early in life, some of my earliest childhood memories included the (irrational) fear that I would get sick and die young of some terrible disease. I suppose it didn’t help watching movies like, “The Andromeda Strain,” and “The Omega Man,” but I always found it difficult to release these fears and trust in the goodness and faithfulness of God.
“Guidance for Churches in the Coronavirus Era”
Covid-19 has changed the way we do church. While the mission and message remains, the method and medium has changed. How can we be the body of Christ in challenging time like this? How do we approach the drastic changes from a spiritual and practical perspective? What will the new normal be? Dr Alex Tang, an EAST adjunct faculty, together with other Christian leaders in Malaysia, co-authored “Guidance for Churches in the Coronavirus Era.” An extract is appended below.
A webinar on the above topic of ministry continuity measures is being conducted on 22 May 2020, Friday, 8:00 pm – 10:00 pm. Join a panel of church and ministry leaders who will offer reflections from theological, pastoral, spirituality, and medical perspectives. For more information on this “live” conversation and registration, visit bit.ly/churchguidance. Read more
Meeting Online to Encourage
“24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” ~ Hebrews 10:24-25, NIV
When social distancing is the societal norm, keeping in contact through other means and meeting each other online is much needed to encourage each other and spur another on to love and do good.
Webinar: Christian Response to Public Health Crises
Cru Singapore, a sister ministry of EAST, has prepared a special webinar series, COVID-19 Conversations, for friends of the ministry during this “circuit breaker” season. The very first one being this coming Thursday!
Date: 30 April 2020, Thursday
Time: 8:30pm-9:30pm
Topic: The Christian Response To Public Health Crises
Speaker: Assoc Prof Benjamin Ong, Senior Vice President (Health Education & Resources) at the National University of Singapore (NUS)
Details and sign up: cru.sg/covid1
Webinar content covers:
- Speaking calm into crises as Christians
- Evaluating the Church’s response to COVID-19 thus far
- Seize the right moment to share the Gospel, in the right posture
- Emotional health during “circuit breaker”
- Live interaction with panel
Looking for Secrets From the Circuit Breaker?
Drawing lessons learnt from a personal quarantine a few years ago and presently as well as reflections from God’s Word, Ms Joanne Kwok traces out three “secrets” in this season of stay home circuit breaker for us to ponder.
I knew He was showing me something. Every time he brought His disciples somewhere to have their buttons pressed (think having to find food for thousands or sail through crazy storms) – He was showing them something.
This has always been how He’s tested, taught and trained His people for what is to come. I believe that’s exactly what He’s doing again, now. We need to shut up, sit up and press in.
Because, yes, we feel trapped in our houses. Incapacitated by the Circuit Breaker. We’re no longer in any real control, at the mercy of the invisible enemy. And deep down inside we’re scared that we’ve forever lost what we used to have.
But this condition will pass – and we need to remember how this feels like, what it’s revealing. We need to know it for whatever comes next.
For the rest of the article, see Joanne Kwok’s “Secrets from the circuit breaker: Sometimes you have to lose what is precious to find what is real,” Thir.st blog,15 April 2020.
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