The recent COVID-19 pandemic has now blown America from complacency into full-blown panic. At special risk are senior citizens and those with medical conditions that compromise their immunity.
Like many caregiving families, we have struggled to keep ourselves and loved ones safe without giving in to the fear. Our household consists of a vulnerable adult who is being cared for by two at-risk seniors. We recognized the risks early on and quickly ensured that we were as ready as possible for a serious outbreak of this virus.
No, we didn't hoard toilet paper.
Yes, we bought the proper medical supplies and household needs for a few weeks of possible isolation. We already had most of this in place before the crisis hit.
At this time, we are instituting our own policy of social isolation that we will evaluate on a week-by-week basis until the course of the virus appears to be waning. We use stringent infection control measures in our home. We've done all we can for now.
Still, the uncertainty has cast a pall upon our home as the seriousness of this pandemic is commanding the airwaves. We worry about our loved ones around the country. Our beloved granddaughter is facing the very real possibility of having to postpone her much-anticipated wedding. From serious illness to financial strain to personal loss, people are experiencing trials on many levels.
In the midst of anxiety, there is one place we can run.
When I read this Psalm, the image that comes to my mind is that of a hen sheltering her chicks under her wings. I remember fondly the little banty hens we had when I was growing up. The chicks always knew to run to their mamas if they were threatened. The hens spread their wings over their babies and pecked anyone who got near. There was something so comforting in watching the little ones sleeping under their mothers' wings.
In some Bible versions, the word
abide in verse one is translated as "rest." When trouble descends upon us, we can rest in God's shelter. It's supposed to be the place we live. God is strong and mighty and a loving Father. He is our deliverer and the keeper of our souls.
So as we live out a long, hard winter, we can do two things:
Exercise infection control
Live in rest.
PSALM 91
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
My God, in whom I trust!”
3 For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper
And from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with His pinions,
And under His wings you may seek refuge;
His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.
5 You will not be afraid of the terror by night,
Or of the arrow that flies by day;
6 Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon.
7 A thousand may fall at your side
And ten thousand at your right hand,
But it shall not approach you.
8 You will only look on with your eyes
And see the recompense of the wicked.
9 For you have made the Lord, my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place.
10 No evil will befall you,
Nor will any plague come near your tent.
11 For He will give His angels charge concerning you,
To guard you in all your ways.
12 They will bear you up in their hands,
That you do not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread upon the lion and cobra,
The young lion and the serpent you will trample down.
14 “Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.
15 “He will call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
16 “With a long life I will satisfy him
And let him see My salvation.”
