Learning from Covid - Barb Jackson
1 Peter 5:7 “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”
We arrived home from church one Sunday morning early because my husband was in the midst of preaching and became ill. He stopped, closed in prayer, & said he suddenly didn’t feel well. We both had early symptoms of a cold, but I had never known him to miss church or cut short a service because of illness, much less a cold. He was pale & broken out in a sweat. We arrived home & he became flushed and had a low grade fever. Within two hours, I became ill. We had been taking the recommended vitamin protocol to strengthen our immune systems against Covid. We started other medications for Covid. It hit us very quickly and hard. We had the usual symptoms without the loss of taste or smell.
Within 48 hours, my husband started turning around. Praise the Lord! I, on the other hand, have a compromised immune system, and developed unbelievably painful muscle aches and chills that shook me like shudders and caused my teeth to chatter. I coughed until I thought I would birth a lung. I had a fever, shortness of breath, and no appetite. It was all I could do to flip over on my stomach occasionally because I knew my lungs would expand better. I was so weak, I could barely pray. I remembered the verse, 1 Peter 5:7 “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” All I could bring myself to cry out in a whisper was “Hold me Jesus. I don’t have the strength to hang onto you.” In actuality, He holds each of us in His hand. John 10:29 “My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.” I had a peace come over me. I knew He was with me and caring for me. I could feel the prayers of others lifting me up.
I developed a fear at night and didn’t want to be alone. I am not one who typically worries or is fearful. I was not afraid of dying, just an unexplainable fear that fell upon me. I knew fear was not from God. I meditated on verses, to help overcome this fear. Isaiah 41:10 “Fear thou not; for I (am) with thee: be not dismayed; for I (am) thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” Other people gave me verses and prayed for me. 1 Timothy 1:7 “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” Hebrews 14:5 “[Let your] conversation [be] without covetousness; [and be] content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” God took away the fear within a few nights.
God is sovereign and I know He allowed my husband and me to have Covid. He had a plan and a purpose. I prayed and thanked God for giving us Covid and that I believed it was His will. I admit it was a stretch for me to thank Him for Covid, but I knew I was to thank Him for all things. The Bible says in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;” and Ephesians 5:20 “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;” There is a song by Lynda Randle “God on the Mountain”. One of the verses says “You talk of faith, when you’re up on the mountain; But talk comes so easy, when life’s at its best; Now it’s down in the valleys, of trials and temptations; That’s where your faith, is really put to the test.”
This experience taught me how important it is to meditate & memorize Scripture so when you need it, it is in your heart and mind. It has reinforced in me that when God brings others to your mind, pray for them. They may need your prayer desperately. When someone asks you to pray, do it right away. If not, you may forget and their need may not wait.
Most of all, this has increased my faith and trust in God and His sovereignty. He truly knows what’s best and I can trust Him to bring me through whatever He has planned. He has a plan for your life, too. Do you trust Him, not just for salvation, but to be Lord of your life? Have you surrendered to Him to do what’s in your best interest? Or are you trying to stay in control? His plan is always better than ours.
I know others who have lost loved ones to Covid. We may wonder why. Take comfort in knowing that He had a plan for their lives and He had a purpose. We may never know it on this side of Heaven, but we can trust in a holy and sovereign God to do what is best and what will ultimately bring honor and glory to Him. That is our purpose.