Jeremiah 4:19 “My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.”
In Jeremiah’s day, actual “war” was looming upon Jerusalem and Judah; so much so, that fear was gripping the people; their hearts were pounding within them for they had “heard … the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war”. In those days, the military used trumpets to signal commands to their armies and to strike fear in their enemies. The people were smitten with fear because they were hearing “the trumpet, the alarm of war”. It is the same today, our great enemy wants to strike fear in our hearts, to confuse us, to discourage us, and to ruin us with panic. The media and internet are frothing with all kinds of philosophies and reports about this Coronavirus; about its origin, about its devastation, and about what it can do to us. But, as Jeremiah was crying out to the people to turn from their wicked ways and worship the Lord, so should we be crying out today, encouraging one another to focus on the Lord, spending our time “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). As the Psalmist said, “I will” worshipfully “lift up my hands in thy name” (Psalms 63:4) and “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.” (Psalms 121:1). I know from experience, that in cases such as this, speculation abounds, but there are things that we will probably never know for sure about this virus. But, we do know that there is a threat to our health and welfare; but, because of all the confusion, we do not know for sure just how severe that threat really is; therefore, prudence compels us to prayerfully prepare for the worse. And, we also know for sure that the Word of God is true, that our God is on His Throne, that He loves us with a “great love”, that He will never forsake us, and that He will eventually deliver us! Jeremiah told the people in Jerusalem and Judah that, while things were bad, the Lord was going to deliver them and that even better days were ahead, yet they were gripped by fear. So, let’s just “Be still, and know that” our Lord is “God” (Psalm 46:10); spending our time in prayer, reading the Word of God, singing the sweet old Songs of Zion, and speaking to one another about the things of our Lord. Of this I am certain, there will be a moment in which our Lord will Command with His Sovereign, Omnipotent Voice, “Peace, be still” (Mark 4:39); and with that Command He will guide some doctor or medical team to develop an antidote and vaccine and this awful scourge will cease!