Who Moved My Cheese?

Just when everything seemed to be going well---at least for conservatives and Christians---unemployment down, a robust record-breaking economy, a President who actually is paying attention to social issues that matter very much to biblical Christians---then it happened.

Everything Has Suddenly Changed.

A few days ago, before we became quarantined, I heard a guy in a store say, "Somebody moved my cheese."

The guy with him said, "What does that mean?"

Be informed.

A few years ago, Spencer Johnson, MD, wrote a little book titled, "Who Moved My Cheese?"

Although light-hearted, the little book became a timeless business classic and international bestseller, selling nearly 30 million copies.

Back then, a friend of mine gave me his copy. And I read it.

Dr. Johnson uses the simple parable of two little mice, "Sniff and Scurry," and two "little people, "Hem and Haw" to address the most difficult challenge in most people's life: Change.

Dr. Johnson says, "It would be easy if you had a map to the maze. If the same old routines worked. If they'd just stop moving the cheese; But things keep changing..."

A little virus called a "corona," so small that many of them will fit on the head of a pin, has essentially changed everything---basically shut down the world.

We must not forget there actually is a map to the maze.

The culture is changing. The Map will never change.

A political shift.

According to recent approval polls published from Harris and Axios on March 17 and 18, last week, these and other polls show that America is rallying behind President Trump in his handling of the nation's affairs in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak.

While many in the media and the progressive Left are still trying to undermine the President on every turn---the American people's support for him is growing.

Here's an example from Harris polling:

• Overall approval: 53%
• Handling COVID-19: 56%
• Stimulating jobs: 60%
• The economy: 60%
• Fighting terrorism 58%
• Immigration: 53%
• Foreign affairs: 52%
• Administrating the government 51%

All of these numbers up from one week prior.

ABC News/Ipsos poll results released Friday show that 55% of Americans give the President a thumbs-up regarding his management of the public health crises with only 43% disapproving. One week prior, 43% approved with 54% disapproving. A 23-point shift for the better.

This survey also found that 72% "do not fear they will die from the virus." However---they are still very fearful.

Fear of the unknown. Fear of change. No map for the maze of life.

The map for the maze.

Christian author Max Lucado is encouraging Christians to choose faith over fear and consider what God might be telling them as this coronavirus continues to spread around the world.

He says,

"We've never lived in a time like this. This is unprecedented. Yet the Bible tells us that times have been bizarre before. You open your Bible and you read about pestilence, fears, dark times. The Bible is written for times like this."

He continues,.

"I think this is a time where we need to be feeding our faith. If you feed your faith, your fears will starve. If you feed your fears, your faith will starve."

He says the news media is filled with negative stories and if we consume those stories endlessly, and don't guard our hearts, it will create anxiety and fear that will "suck us down."

He notes that in 2 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul exhorts believers to "take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."

"This means," he says, "we hear that thought, and then we pray: 'I know it seems things are getting worse, but Lord, you are in control, and I'm not going to surrender to that. I give my fear to you. Instead of allowing anxiety into my heart, faith goes into my heart so that later, what I say is 'Things are tough, but I believe in a good God and He's on the throne. I become one who purveys hope instead of fear."

Lucado also encourages every believer to ask: "Lord, what are you saying to me during these crises?"

He says he believes the Lord's message is both personal and global. Some of us need to hear something individually. For example, maybe the Lord is telling us not to be too dependent on the economy. Or don't look to entertainment for your fulfillment."

And he says,

"I don't know if this is an indication that we're near the end of the world as we know it, but it could be. Nobody knows. But it's a reminder to us to turn our hearts to the Lord and keep praying."

Anne Graham Lotz, daughter of Billy Graham, says she believes this new coronavirus might be a sign of the end times and is stressing the importance of making sure "we are right with God so that we are ready to meet Him whenever the time comes."

Lotz said that while she is at risk for the disease due to her age and recent struggles with cancer, she is "more concerned about the fear the coronavirus has provoked than I am of the virus itself. We seem to be caught up in a national panic."

She says the coronavirus has "created national fear in a way I have not witnessed in my lifetime."

The evangelist noted that Jesus warned that at the end of time, there would be "pestilences," adding: "In the last few years, we have endured SARS, the swine flu, ebola, avian flu, MERS, West Nile, and now coronavirus."

She said, "Could COVID-19 be one more sign that our redemption is drawing near? Is the end in sight? Is Jesus coming...soon? If so, is fear the proper response?"

"This is a time to pray for ourselves, our families, our nation," she says, "and all those worldwide whose lives are being devastated by the death and disruption this disease is causing."

Lotz says, "You and I need to make sure we are right with God so that we are ready...then join...in helping someone else get right with God."

Takeaway

In 2 Corinthians 1:4 Paul writes, "Who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."

If we who are the family of faith are paralyzed by fear we will have nothing to pass on to a fearful world. How can we comfort others, when we are selves do not receive God's comfort?

Be Informed. Be Faithful. Be Prayerful.