Christian Hope in the time of Coronavirus
By N. Pauthiansiam (Counselling Psychologist)
In the past few months every country around the globe has taken the current global health emergency as their own and has contributed in many ways to cure and save people from the illness with all their ability. It is not just a public health crisis, it is a global event pervading nearly every aspect of people’s lives, causing them to worry about not just about themselves but about their loved ones and friends etc. Not everyone reacts to the pandemic the same way, some people are cautious in washing their hands while others rushed to buy sanitizers, masks, toilet paper, medicine, food and daily essential needs. According to several psychologists and public health experts “public anxiety is high, and it’s largely fuel by a feeling of powerlessness”, “So much information and misinformation. Changing the knowledge about the transmissibility and future spread is itself a cause of anxiety and fear” (Pratima Murthy, HoD of Psychiatry, NIMHANS).
There is a fear to the unknown, “It's a new, unknown illness, we don't know how severe it's going to be, and we don't know how concerned to be," said Lynn Bufka, associate executive director for research and policy at the American Psychological Association and an expert on anxiety, stress and cultural issues. This can clearly show and tell us that in spite of all our religious background and faith in God the current pandemic has struck us all with fear, worry, panic, anxiety and leave no one behind. But for those who are a believer in Christ and are feeling the brokenness of this world very deeply, Christian faith affirms that we live in a fallen world and should feel the brokenness.
This should make sense of the mental health challenges that we have, for example, separation anxiety. Separation anxiety is a type of mental illness where someone is afraid of being separated from a particular person who can be a friend, sibling, parents and family. It is more common with children between the age of 8-12 months where there is a fear of removal experience by children from attachment figures, usually parents or caregivers to whom they have attached. We must also know this disorder can also be developed and experience during our adulthood or later in life. Coming back to our point, any form of anxiety, where we are anxious about separation from either home or from people with whom we have a strong emotional attachment. Our Christian theology and faith make some sense in dealing with this separation anxiety, because the Bible tells us that I am not home; you are not home and we are not yet home. We are a foreigner, a traveler, in exile, and that our primary citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20; 2 Peter 2:11). The bible also tells us I am separated; you are separated, and we all are separated from the relationship that should mean us the most personal; the relationship with our Creator (Isaiah 59:2; Romans 3:23; 6:23).
Our theology and Bible do explain some of the challenges that we deal with the context of mental health. Often times, what is said is we are over exaggerating and estimating the fear that we naturally experience or the reality of the circumstances that we are dealing with. Periodically that is true, for example if you are experiencing an irrational fear of spiders or insects but there is no spider/insect in the area. Let’s talk about that, have a various aspect of reasoning, carry out a fast check and see if we can deal with that. But that is not always the case.
What are we supposed to do when our fears are unexaggerated? What are we going to do when our fear is Coronavirus? What should we do when our relationship that mean the most to us is going to be affected and won’t last? What are we supposed to do when we fear suffering, loneliness and death? What are we supposed to do when our fears are not exaggerated and grounded very clearly in the reality of our broken world?
The problem with us today is we didn’t overestimate the fears but underestimated the possibilities of them being overcome. If God truly exists, through the eternal perspective and destiny He could have given us the sense of home we have long for. If God exist through the consistency and inconsistency of the relationship could have encourages us the separation, loneliness, fear and worry that we feel. Or does the fear that we are experiencing alleviated us from the fact that there is a God who in a deep sense He is the ultimate control over everything? With the current pandemic we are experiencing, and you are thinking about separation anxiety, fear, panic, loneliness and worry about your own life and others that God can’t protect me from this or He can’t use me for a high calling. And, there is a question and doubt constantly arises, does God know the scars that I have? Does He know that the situation I am living with?
In conclusion, what I would like to communicate and encourage you today is that God can and He does desires to use you specifically because of the suffering and brokenness that you felt deeply in your life with the current worldwide health crisis. When Thomas doubt Jesus, he said I need to see your wounded hands and put my finger there. And Jesus said, reach out your hand and put it into My side (John 20:24-29). Jesus too had a scar, He kept those scars and He had scars for us. At this extremely difficult moment, all our scars, fears and anxiety will not disappear, but we have hope in Christ that one day it will bear the glory for the One who had scarred for you and me. Particularly in this anxious time, when people are suffering from anxiety, panic, worry, loneliness and fear of the virus or death. You and I will be able to come along the side and say I’ve been there, I’ve felt what you have felt and worry, I’ve known that fear and panic, I’ve known that depression and I’ve known that separation anxiety I will walk with you. You show your scars to me, and I will show my scars to you, we can walk through this together. God has a particular plan for you, and it’s my prayer that with the current global health emergency the plan that God has for you become more clearer and clearer to you as you eagerly seek His will, guidance, presence and protection.