En cours de chargement...
The word "pandemic" strikes fear in our hearts. It feels big, scary, and out-of-control. Thoughts of life and death swirl in our minds until they reach tornado conditions. Waves of media reports, designed to instill fear, break over us like a merciless hurricane. The foundations of society shake as cultural institutions close for public safety, rocking our daily routine like a 7.0 earthquake. Fear is a natural response to threats.
It's a God-given instinct intended to heighten our responses to danger. There's nothing wrong with a brief sense of fear. Seven seconds. Scientists say an emotion lasts seven seconds. After that it becomes a mood. We can't control a brief emotional response, but we can control our moods. I know this because I have a mood disorder-bipolar disorder. Hi, I'm Christy. In addition to bipolar disorder, I've been diagnosed with depression, PTSD, anxiety attacks, panic attacks, and generalized anxiety disorder.
With all my mental illnesses, you'd think I'd be having a tough time dealing with COVID-19 shutting everything down and creating general panic and pandemonium. Wrong. I'm watching people absolutely freak out about a pandemic and I'm perfectly calm, wondering what all the fuss is about-and I'm a natural germophobe. Why am I, the one with mental illness, the only sane person (so it seems)?I've worked on my spiritual and mental health so much that I'm mastering the basic skills for coping with my mental health issues regardless of what life throws at me.
I have dug deep into God's Word to find help and healing. These are things that help shift my perspective from one of panic to peace, and from chaos to confidence. In this short ebook, you'll learn how to feel God's comfort and receive God's love. God's love casts out fear. If we are afraid, we have not fully experienced God's love (1 John 4:18). When you know God loves and cares for you, life begins to feel more stable and much less scary.
After that, you'll discover a variety of Bible-based actions you can take to follow God's wisdom and combat feelings of helplessness in the face of a pandemic. God's wisdom is so much greater than ours. Spending time in God's Word instills peace and confidence in our lives. May God bless you as you prayerfully read these mini-devotionals. Read them all at once or one per day. It doesn't matter as long as you open your heart to God's love and tell fear you are closed for business.