In November of 1996, my wife and I welcomed our third son into the world. Thankfully he was born very healthy and the first month of his life was what we would consider normal.  On Christmas day of that year we discovered he had a very high fever. Due to the number of years that have passed I don’t recall the exact temperature, but it was significant enough for us to take a trip to the emergency room.  All he had was a common cold but given his age they told us they needed to admit him to reduce the risk of infection.  Even though I knew it was for his own good, the point where they had to put the IV in him was an emotionally painful experience. Hearing my baby boy cry as a result of the doctors helping him temporarily caused unnecessary fear.  It only lasted a moment because I rationally knew and understood what was happening but that brief emotional pain was so strong, I can still distinctly remember how it felt, even though more than 23 years have gone by.  If we aren’t careful, we can allow our fears to overwhelm us and if that happens even the most rational individuals are capable of operating in extremely irrational ways. I was outside the depths of my expertise and was not able to give my son the real help he needed but I could not allow my concern to morph into fear and I had to have faith the physicians would diagnose and treat my son correctly.

One example in the bible that relates to both faith and fear is 2 Kings 7: 1-16.  It is not only a story about how men operate with fear and faith but also about the faithfulness of God.  The story involves four leprous men and a dire situation they found themselves in.  One intriguing dynamic that makes this story currently relevant is there are some interesting similarities between the view of leprosy during those times and the way we are viewing COVID-19 now.  Just like COVID-19, there is a long incubation period for leprosy and once it was discovered you were infected quarantine was required.  During biblical times there was no cure for leprosy just as there is no current cure/vaccine for COVID-19 now. The primary way in which leprosy and COVID-19 are spread is through direct contact with a carrier of the infection.  As a result, it is safe to say that people in the ancient world were some of the first ones to practice “social distancing” in relation to dealing with the leprosy infection.

Unlike today, where we understand that viruses are not necessarily the fault of the infected; in those days there was often a belief in the direct judgement of God and why someone was afflicted.  This belief system resulted in creating real social outcasts, so that the leper was dealing with not just physical but also emotional distancing. When we read the text and contemplate the dilemma of the lepers with the understanding of their position as outcasts, we can begin to understand the level of angst they were experiencing in attempting to make their decision in how they should proceed. As lepers they would have been accustomed to living as if their lives did not carry much value.  How grateful should we be that no matter how we may view ourselves, God’s view of us is always based on His holy and perfect attributes? The text doesn’t tell us whether their debate took minutes or hours but no matter how long it took, the tone of their conversation does not express confidence in plausible victory but more so concession in pivotal defeat.

I can only begin to imagine the wave of emotional change these lepers must have experienced; going from nervousness and fear to relief and joyfulness once they realized their fears were based on their own understanding which was contextually based on what they could see and/or envision in front of them. We have the privilege of being able to view these events through the lens of celebrating the reality of what God had already accomplished for His purposes.  After they realized the “blessing” they encountered they did what any group who is more concerned with themselves would do. They looted! However, even in the most desperate times and amongst the most derelict individuals there can be a reasonable unselfish voice that speaks up and that’s exactly what happened.  I am reminded of the story of the Prodigal Son, where these lepers, just like the Prodigal, came to their senses and realized what they were doing wasn’t right.  While it may be tempting to say they did it solely for good and honorable reasons, the text tells us there was still an element of self-preservation involved. More specifically, they were still operating under a fear paradigm since they didn’t want any “punishment” to overtake them. So, they make the decision to venture back into the city and inform the city gatekeepers of what they had discovered.  The bible doesn’t tell us what happened to these men after this encounter, but I am encouraged by the fact that even if we are motivated by fear, it is a blessing to know that God will always be faithful.  These four men had a legitimate need and God used His promise to Elisha and help fill that need; a clear demonstration of what he will do, even for those society may view as “the least of these”.  If God provides in this manner for the least of these, then we must ask the question, in whom or what shall I fear?  That question is naturally rhetorical because as Christians, the obvious and only answer is no one or nothing!

There are times in our lives when we should function with a heightened sense of caution but as Pastor Tony Evans once said, “legitimate concern shouldn’t become illegitimate worry”.   The COVID-19 pandemic is a prime example of some people practicing illegitimate worry.  This current health crisis is very real, and we all need to behave in a manner that helps to promote public safety, but as believers, we should never view panic during a pandemic as permissible.  Just as leprosy, polio and even HIV have been dealt a huge blow and none of those conditions are the deadly menace to society they once were, one day we will be able to say the same thing about COVID-19. As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Great Physician, there should always be a level of faith that allows us to view the circumstances around us with a clearer lens, giving us a God’s eye view.

Hebrews 11:1 tells us that “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”.  I have found that oftentimes as believers we read that verse and begin to interpret it as living out a blind faith. The word that we translate at substance or in some version’s assurance is the Greek word “Hypostasis” which means “the underlying state or underlying substance and is the fundamental reality that supports all else.”. As believers our faith is not based on “nothing” our faith is based on things that are substantial and on the blessed assurances of Jesus.

I understand those are easy statements to make and you may be saying, “of course that’s how we should live, but that’s easier said than done”.  I would have to agree with that thought process as we all naturally have struggles and sometimes need to reset our faith barometer.  It is not always simple to operate with the faith of the three Hebrew boys, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego when we are in the midst of a crisis. The challenges of that level of faith should not be our focus though, our focus should be immersed in the truth that God equips all of His children with the ability to believe in and walk out our faith in that same way.  Jesus said, if we have faith the size of a mustard seed, we can move mountains and it’s walking in that promise where our substantive faith lies. If the four leprous men can operate from the perspective of a desperation type of faith than surely as those of us who are able to walk in the blessed assurance of salvation can walk with a deliberate faith, knowing God goes before us and has already provided a solution to our dilemmas in accordance with His will.