anxiety

March 16, 2020 Jfuglerwriter 2 Comments

Coronavirus: A believer’s response

The Coronavirus pandemic has rocked our world. Not just the globe, but our personal lives. Everyone is talking about it. Opinions are flying everywhere. Fear has nations in its grip.

As believers, how are we supposed to respond? Our faith is certainly put to the test. If we believe God is sovereign, ruler of everything (including the Coronavirus), fear shouldn’t even be in our vocabulary. But, for many Christians, it is.

That’s easy to understand. Wherever we turn, news of the Coronavirus pops up. Every third email is about the Coronavirus, sent by my bank, airlines, department stores, my church, hotel chains and my financial advisor.

Our emotions are frayed. On the outside, we appear calm, but our intense discussions say otherwise. In all of this, we might find it hard to shut out the world and open our hearts to Jesus.

Everyone is talking about the Coronavirus.

And so is God.

He has been talking about it for centuries. It may have been under a different name, but this crisis is not new to him. Imagine the lepers of the New Testament, the Bubonic Plague centuries ago and Ebola that is wreaking havoc in Africa. The Swine Flu over a decade ago. And there are other earth-shattering crises I could name.

God has been speaking about calamities since the beginning of time. These upheavals get our attention. And the attention of the world.

God’s timeless words reach us in the pandemonium of the pandemic. Jesus said, “ Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28 NIV)

The early church was encouraged by the Apostle Paul, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Philippians 4:6 NIV)

For the first time in my memory of 60 years, our world has come to a halt. It won’t be for a day, or a week, but it could be for months. Who knows?

Your social life is on hold. Your church life, too. And any sports or cultural events on your schedule are cleared out. Trips you’ve planned are likely pushed back indefinitely. Schools are closed. Workplaces are resorting to remote officing.

I just had a conference postponed, as well as an international visit from a colleague. We’ll meet by Zoom.

Life is at a crawl. This is a serious thing for many businesses. My son works for an airline. That industry has been quickly crushed. Your own work situation might be tentative.

In the midst of this crisis comes opportunity. You now have the time to spend with God. Your schedule has opened up in a way it may never have before and may never open up in the future. The blocks of time you had set aside for events, trips, gatherings and other activities are now wide open.

John Piper wrote a book over a decade ago called Don’t Waste Your Life. A few years later, he came down with cancer. His pulpit message soon after was, “Don’t waste your cancer.” His message was that everything in our lives can be used for God’s glory.  Even bad things.

Let’s not waste the Coronavirus. This evil disease will not beat us, but it is a trigger to get our relationship right with God. We can experience a renewed intimacy with the Lord, going deeper than we ever have. Not for temporary results, but lifelong.

(Taken from my new book, Fresh Faith: Leaning on God in the Corona Crisis. Available NOW. Free).

September 24, 2019 Jfuglerwriter Comments Off on Rest and Devices

Rest and Devices

When it comes to getting rest for our souls these days, has God has left us to our own devices? Actually, I think he wants us to put them to rest so we can rest. Our devices . . . today’s biggest enemy to rest.

We’ve heard the statistics. The average person each day spends over 75 minutes on social media, nearly a half hour texting, 25 minutes on email, 15 minutes playing games, and the rest of the time on calls and apps, for a total of over four hours a day. The biggest time waster used to be TV. Now it’s whatever we want it to be on our phone.

We’ve also heard the health warnings. “The more people use their phone,” Dr. Nancy Cheever, researcher at California State Dominguez Hills, told ABC News, “the more anxious they are about using their phone.”

People are anxious with their devices. It seems like we’re anxious without them, too. When we don’t have our phone with us, we’re afraid we’ll miss a text. We don’t want to be excluded from important information. As a result, we have some sort of device detachment syndrome.

So you don’t think I’m immune to this, I admit I have my phone with me all the time. I check it often for a number of reasons. I don’t do Facebook (it makes me anxious) but I have a plethora of other choices. I must make sure the weather forecast hasn’t changed in the past half hour, my favorite team is still playing tomorrow night, and I haven’t missed any breaking news, and a super-duper urgent text hasn’t escaped my attention.

Once I have all that settled, I’m at peace and can rest. Not quite. Ten minutes later, I have to re-check all those sources. No wonder I can’t rest!

I hope you’re squirming right now. You should be. I should be, too, as I confess my device dependence.

On the count of three, let’s both slide our phones across the floor like we’re a criminal surrendering a Magnum to the police. Ready?

1 . . . 2 . . . 3! Slide that phone across the floor. If you’ve got a second one concealed under your pant leg, slide that one, too.

I know this conversation is humorous, but the reality is not. How much time do we fail to rest because, thanks to our phones, we can’t shut down? We can’t relax! It’s tragic. God is sad. He sees us chasing our tails and beckons us to slow down, pause, stop. And rest.

On some phones, you can see a “screen time” report. How horrible. It shows us, like a mirror, how dependent we are on our devices. Imagine if you spent just 10% of that time resting? Resting with God. It’s like tithing your screen time to God.

Well, now that I’ve got you rattled, I’ll conclude today’s reflection and let you decide what your next step is. I can’t tell you what to do to take back some rest time from your device. But God can.

Slide that phone across the floor and spend the next few minutes consulting with the Lord.

(From my upcoming book. Your Life With God: 30 Days of Rest. Coming in October to Amazon.)

March 1, 2019 Jfuglerwriter Comments Off on God Cares

God Cares

I can break things, but I’m terrible at fixing. In my house growing up, we had two tools: a hammer and a screwdriver. I think that’s the root of my problem.

However, in life, I try to step in and be a fixer. And I’m just as bad as I am with tools. I’m much better off when I turn to the Father.

Oh, how excellent it is to trust a great and mighty God with all our cares. He is all-powerful, sovereign, faithful, loving, eternal and King. This is so wonderful to know. And even better to believe.

Are you feeling overwhelmed these days by the serious needs of people in your life? If you’re a fixer or worrier, then you might find yourself trying to make things right instead of laying these needs before the Lord. The tendency to fix leads to anxiety and frustration. Uncertainty.

Move from being a fixer to exercising faith as you pray. Trust God with those on your heart today.

Someone who needs healing?

A loved one who is addicted?

A relationship that is badly damaged?

A hurting soul that needs hope?

A friend who faces prison?

You can’t fix these things or these people. God is the solution. Bring these needs to the One who owns the universe and is bigger than all the problems of the world combined. What a joy to know that God waits for you to come to his throne with everything, big and small.

“I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’” (Isaiah 46:9-10 NIV)

You may be facing a monumental challenge yourself today. You might be the one who needs healing, hope or freedom. The Lord waits for you. Cease striving and fixing. Bring your biggest pains to him at the altar. Drop them there as you drop to your knees.

You know a God who cares. He loves you and offers himself to you. As you seek help, seek him. Throw yourself into his arms. Your Savior died for you. He not only cares for your soul, but he cares for the total you.

“. . . casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” (I Peter 5:7 ESV)

As you give God the weight of the intense burdens that you’re bearing, you’ll experience his liberation. Cling to him in prayer.

Whether it’s for the needs of others or yourself, move from fixing to faith.

(From my new devotional Your Life With God: 30 Days of Incredible Prayer. Releasing this week on Amazon)

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