One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out. As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.”  Luke 8:22-25
 
On Monday, after returning from a trip, I do my grocery shopping. I buy the usual items, including the typical pack of toilet paper. On Thursday, I stop by my local supermarket for a couple of items that I realized I had not bought earlier. Upon entering the store, I’m checking my phone for my very short grocery list when I hear a man passing by with his cart say, “I’ve never seen a grocery store so crowded!” I look up from my phone and my eyes fall on the numerous check-out lines, each several persons deep with each customer’s cart filled to overflowing. Having been away from home for a while as I traveled to a country that had been untouched by the coronavirus, it takes me a second to realize what I’m seeing:  hoarding, with the underlying emotions of panic, fear, and anxiety.
 
I begin my shopping with the basket slung over my arm as I weave in and out of the mob of shoppers, each pushing a full cart loaded up with all kinds of items. I have to wonder if they truly need all of them. By this time, I’m wondering if I’m missing something by my lack of panic. When I notice that the pasta aisle is 75% cleared out, I do ask myself if I need any pasta but decide I don’t. After placing the 5 or 6 items I’m buying in my basket, I go to the check-out counter where I’m thankful to see the express lane, now converted into self-checkout, has a short line. It’s not until I’m home and am texting a friend on the East coast who tells me there is no toilet paper where she is that I realize I should have checked out the toilet paper aisle at the store. Just out of curiosity, of course!
 
The next day I read in my newsfeeds about the panic over toilet paper. Apparently, when told to stock up on household supplies to last a couple of weeks, people instantly gravitate toward hoarding toilet paper. According to this article, by hoarding this commodity, we feel a sense of control, like we’ve done all we can do to protect ourselves from this pandemic called CoVid-19 or coronavirus.
 
The reality is we have not. Nor can we. We can take precautionary measures and I’m all for that, like social distancing and hand sanitizing. But the reality is we are not in control of this coronavirus of epic proportions. But I know Someone who is.
 
God. God alone is in control of this world when the globe seems to spin out of control. That’s true when times are normal and it’s definitely true during this most unusual time. While fear of uncertainty and fear of the unknown are normal human feelings, we don’t have to surrender to our fears.
 
When the disciples head across the Sea of Galilee, a storm rips across the waters, tossing the boat and creating a lot of fear and panic in the hearts of these followers of Jesus. Exhausted from teaching and healing, Jesus is sleeping in the stern of the boat, seemingly heedless of the waves rocking the small vessel. As their boat fills up with water, the disciples, realizing they are in serious trouble, wake their Master. It’s almost as if He is their last resort. Jesus stands up in the boat and sharply tells the wind and the waves to stop. Miraculously, they do. Even though the disciples have witnessed other miracles by Jesus, they are still amazed at His power and authority over the sea and the wind. Jesus rebukes His disciples for the small amount of faith they have. Perhaps Jesus allowed them to experience fear for a time so they can learn that it is through Jesus that storms are calmed and fears arrested. Maybe they should have woken Him up first before trying to bail the water out of the boat by themselves.
 
For those of us who profess Jesus as our Savior, how big is our faith? Do we have faith enough to believe He is Lord of ALL of our difficult circumstances? Are we, like the disciples, trying to bail water in this current pandemic on our own while we forget Jesus is in the boat with us? He alone has the power to calm our anxious hearts and give us peace.
 
We have a choice. We can choose to give into fear, panic, and hoarding. Or, we can choose to trust the One who calmed the waves and the wind to calm the storm raging in and around us.
 
One way to rebuke the fear and receive God’s peace is to focus on who God is and how we have hope in Him. We can do this by parking our minds on God and His Word. See previous blog entitled Alphabet Prayers (posted 1/1/20) for attributes of God on which to focus. Also, click here for a free, downloadable PDF of Bible verses that speak to overcoming fear and receiving His peace and hope. Select a verse (or two) and read or recite it when fear threatens to overcome you.
 
May we be people of faith, not fear. May we be generous and giving, rather than selfish and hoarding. May we hold onto peace rather than panic. P-a-n-d-e-m-i-c doesn’t have to spell P-a-n-i-c. When we add God to our perspective, with just another “e” for Elohim (Hebrew for God), it can spell P-e-a-c-e.
 
 
Jesus, You are Lord over all, including this coronavirus and my fears. Give me Your perspective and hope. Grow my faith so that I can experience peace instead of panic. When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. Amen.
 
 
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Text and photograph copyright © 2020 by Dawn Dailey. All rights reserved. Photo of Lake Hayes, near Arrowtown, South Island, New Zealand.
 
 
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.  Isaiah 1:17
 
 
Surrounded by stones of brown and beige constructed into several levels, I stand in the middle of an icon, where crumbling walls bear witness to drama through the ages. The Colosseum in Rome is a massive structure symbolic of Italy itself. Built in the 1st century to seat over 80,000 spectators, thousands of commoners as well as a few emperors came here to see, and perhaps to be seen. Gladiators wanting to make a name for themselves fought here. Hunters killed wild animals for sport within these walls. But there were other kinds of entertainment, too. During breaks in the main program, common criminals were forced into the area, naked and unarmed, to face wild animals that would literally tear them to pieces. Some of those “criminals” were Christians whose crimes were simply not worshiping the Roman gods.
 
As I wander around the Colosseum with camera in tow, my lens brings into focus a simple cross. Juxtaposed against this historic backdrop, the cross initially seems out of place. While the cross is an instrument of cruel punishment, it is also a symbol of the power of Jesus’ resurrection. As I ponder this cross situated to memorialize those martyred Christians, I wonder how people could watch, and even applaud, as someone was being torn to pieces by a lion. But more importantly, how do we respond to brutality in our world today?
 
Religious persecution is not confined to 1st century Rome. According to opendoorsusa.org, today 245 million Christians suffer persecution for their faith around the world. One in nine believers experience high levels of persecution. And that doesn’t even include people of other religions who are also punished for their faith. Clearly, religious persecution is still an issue today. Yet the Church Universal is largely silent. How do we acknowledge the issue and how do we respond?
 
Oppression is not limited to persecution. In the Roman world, slavery was the number one business as the Romans routinely conquered, captured, and enslaved their enemies. I wonder how many times God’s heart has broken over the brutality and inequality regarding slavery throughout the ages. How often does His heart break now for those forty million souls trapped in modern slavery, including those in forced labor and those being sex trafficked?
 
Perhaps another form of oppression is the most silent epidemic of all:  domestic abuse and violence. The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) defines domestic violence as “the willful intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual assault, and/or other abusive behavior as part of a systematic pattern of power and control perpetrated by one intimate partner against another.” According to the NCADV, 20 people experience domestic violence every 9 seconds in the US. That’s 10 million people annually. And one third of all female murder victims are killed by an intimate partner.
 
Abuse is not limited to physical assault. Abuse can be verbal, psychological, emotional, or spiritual. It is about power and control. Today, 25% of all marriages, including Christian marriages, are abusive on some level. Lest we think it can never happen to us, abuse does not discriminate. Anyone, regardless of race, religion, gender, or socio-economic status, can become the victim of abuse.
 
Why is abuse so rampant? The victims are mostly (not always) women who often lack the power and the economic resources to escape their perpetrators. Why are churches reluctant to talk about it? Many times, it’s considered a “private matter”, a family issue.
 
In our key verse today, we see the Israelites “going through the motions” of their faith. Their prayers and sacrifices to God ring hollow and God calls them out. He judges them for giving Him only lip service and demands they strive for justice, mercy, and compassion.
 
How do we fight for justice with mercy and compassion? A good place to start is to become informed. Numerous websites and organizations have information that can open our eyes to these global and local issues. But information alone is not enough. Compassion motivates us to respond with mercy and justice. How do we develop compassion? This profound quote from Bob Pierce, founder of World Vision International, is both convicting and motivating:  “Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God.”
 
When we choose to gain knowledge of the issues around us and choose to see the world through God’s eyes, then the Holy Spirit can empower us to respond with compassion, mercy and justice. We can put our faith into action by praying for those who are persecuted, enslaved, or abused. We can give our time and money to worthwhile ministries that strive to help the oppressed. By doing so, we can share the love of Christ and the hope of the Cross to those who are suffering within our communities and beyond.
 
As I think back on that lone cross in the Colosseum, I’m reminded that Jesus, with arms opened wide, hung on the Cross, so that all of us might enter into a relationship with God. His love stretches through time and space to those victimized through persecution, slavery, and abuse. May our love emulate His, with arms opened wide, to embrace all people, to stand up for what is true and right, to seek justice, to help the oppressed, and to defend the powerless. Let’s don’t just go through the motions of our faith. Let’s put our faith into action today.
 
 
Father God, how Your heart must break with the sufferings of this world. Break my heart with what breaks Yours. Teach me compassion and help me act on that compassion by showing justice, mercy, and love. Do not let my faith be hollow words but actions that make a difference for good in the sufferings of others. Amen.
 
 
NOTE: There are many organizations that fight religious persecution, modern-day slavery, sex trafficking, and domestic abuse and violence. Here are several national and international organizations to help you become more informed.
 
Re religious persecution:  
International Christian Concern (ICC) – find them at https://www.persecution.org/
Open Doors USA at https://www.opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution/
 
Re slavery and sex trafficking:  International Justice Mission at https://www.ijm.org/.
 
Re domestic abuse and violence:
National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) - https://www.ncadv.org/ (Note that NCADV has a “safe exit” button on their website so browsing history to this site cannot be tracked.)
 
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, the National Domestic Violence confidential hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) and their website is https://www.thehotline.org/.
 
ADDITIONAL NOTE:  If you are concerned about the fiscal responsibility of these or other charitable organizations, check out Charity Navigator to see info and ratings at https://www.charitynavigator.org/.
 
 
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Text and photographs copyright © 2020 by Dawn Dailey. All rights reserved. Photos of the Colosseum, Rome, Italy.
 
 
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

A cross at the Colosseum:

Another view of the Colosseum: