One of the pieces of financial wisdom I’ve read again and again is that when you invest your money for retirement, you think long-term.
You don’t yank the money out every time the stock market appears to be sinking and reinvest when it appears to be rising. You ride out the ups and downs, knowing that historically the market has always corrected its course over the long haul.
How do we as Christians approach the drawn-out suffering of the present pandemic? It’s not just a medical issue (for those at risk), but also educational (for those who are losing a grade because of lack of sufficient schooling), governmental (maintaining infrastructure when resources, staff, and funds are tight), financial (jobs are lost and savings are depleting), but also spiritual (we don’t know what God is doing).
The idea investors use regarding investing for the long haul is exactly the prescription the Bible gives for our situation. We read in 2 Corinthians 4:16, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.” Paul didn’t focus on the personal hardships he was facing, where the the outward body was perishing, being worn out from his work of the gospel.
He focused on God. He found inner refreshment from his position of knowing God and His faithfulness. He reminded himself of the promises of the scriptures and he responded in prayer, thankfulness, and surrender to the will of God. That’s what refreshment looks like.
4:17 tells us, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” Paul considered his problems in context. He was going to live forever. The sufferings he was experiencing were momentary in comparison. They were real, but he could bear the pain a little longer because eternity was just around the corner. We’ve done this ourselves with other burdens. We thought the package was too heavy, but we hung on a little longer because we were getting closer to the table to drop it off.
4:18 tells us, “while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” What are you looking at the most? The bleak news and what you see around you? Or the glories of the Kingdom of God the scriptures declare are just ahead of you? One view has you feeling fearful and worried with every piece of news. The other keeps you steady as you know you are banking on the promises of a faithful God who has your everlasting life with Him in view.
Therefore we do not lose heart. God’s love for us is greater than the COVID-19 scare, no matter how many lives it takes. Nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.
Perhaps some of my readers will face death as a result of this disease. Then try the next verse on for size: “For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (2 Corinthians 5:1). At our death, this tent we wear as a body will be replaced with a new building made with God’s hands. It will be eternal in the heavenlies, to die no more. Freed from sickness, sin, and death forever.
Watch out for the choices you make. Keep laying up your treasures in heaven, those promises of eternal life God swears to give you in the age to come. Walk by faith, not by sight.
Now is the time to store up sound doctrine so that we are not unnerved over the next calamity to fall on us. While we are in these bodies, there will always be another trial to come. But God is a very present help in trouble and will, through His word, give us guidance to navigate the ups and downs.
