20 Nov Held by Christ’s Love

A few weeks ago, I experienced a time of shaking when, on a short trip to our family cabin in North Carolina (my favorite get away location!) we found out that my mother had tested positive for COVID-19.

We happened to be out at a local barbecue restaurant grabbing dinner when my husband read me the text: “Laura, your mom has COVID.” My heart skipped a beat as I took in the news.

The first few days, my mom didn’t seem to be doing too badly, but after several days with a fever, the illness seemed to be taking a toll on her body and she was very weak. Each day of their sickness, I would call to check on them (my father at this point had also tested positive, though he didn’t feel as bad as mom), seeking to discern if there were any improvements or setbacks.

During one 48 hour period in particular, mom really wasn’t doing well. In her typical fashion, she was trying to remain optimistic but I could tell that she really needed to turn a corner soon. It was during this low point that I was scheduled to teach the last two classes in a theology and church history course I had been leading for a group of several kids in my neighborhood called TheoKids.

I had received some discouraging news about mom’s condition just minutes before I had to teach the class. I stepped out on my back porch, seeking to pull myself together so I could present the material to the children. One aspect of the lesson I was teaching that day was the topic of “Our Spiritual Battle” in Ephesians 6. I talked to the kids about the importance of putting on the full armor of God and knowing that when we choose to follow Christ, we enter into a very real spiritual battle.

I stopped in the middle of the teaching and paused momentarily, considering my words. I decided in that moment to open up to the kids as I shared with them about my mom’s health and my own concerns for her. The Lord had used the words of Fenelon in his little book “Let Go” to pierce my heart that week: “Evil circumstances are changed into good when they are received with an enduring trust in the love of God…“

In essence, I shared with the kids, “The Lord is showing me through this circumstance that the spiritual battle I am engaging right now has much more to do with my own trust in Him than about my mother’s health. I am praying for my mom’s full healing, but I believe that no matter what happens, she is held by the love of God and I am held by the love of God.”

Even as I made this confession to the kids, I felt strengthened by the truth of these words: “We are held by the love of God.”

As the weeks have progressed, I am grateful to say that my parents have recovered. I am also grateful for the opportunity that trial presented us to stand in Christ’s love and to trust Him.

In John 14:27 Christ tells his disciples, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

We don’t have to look very far to know that the world around us does not offer enduring peace. Rather, it would seem that every direction we turn these days, there are ample opportunities to become worried, distressed, and even depressed. And yet, when we look to Christ and listen to his words, we are called once again to receive the gift of His peace: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” ~ Romans 15:3.

A fellow student in my seminary class this fall said that a motto among their church leadership is to “be the non-anxious one in the room.” This is only possible when we are rooted and grounded in the love of Christ.

My conviction is that we give our peace away far too quickly. There is a shift in the political climate and we are undone. A sickness or other trial comes upon us and we fall into despair. If we are honest, we often feed our anxieties instead of cast them on the Lord. We ruminate on our consternations rather than relinquish them.

What circumstances have you spiraling into anxiety or despair these days? What are those anxious thoughts that are waging war on your peace in Christ? Choose today to cast them on Christ and stand on the truth of His promise to you:

“I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.” – Romans 8:38-39, The Message.

You are held by Christ’s love and nothing can take His love from you. Beloved, let yourself be loved.