In the January/February Baptist Times, I made a really bold statement—a statement I was asked about then and have been pelted with questions about ever since. My statement was this: “There is a storm coming to America, sooner than we think, that will reveal whether our churches have developed mature disciples or attracted hollow consumers.”
For the record, I am no more a prophet who can predict the future than you. On the other hand, Bible Baptist Church of Stillwater will attest that I have been emphasizing for the last year the need to prepare for an impending storm that will test our discipleship. I have made many statements about a time when we will not have a building in which to meet or music programs on which to rely. Who could know that COVID-19 would be that storm and that within a span of two weeks we would go from normal church life to almost no church life, at least, as we know it? I certainly didn’t.
I am convinced, though, that it is a very clear signal and a vitally important lesson that we had better heed. The cost of not heeding it could wipe out many of the gains we claim as churches in our communities and across our nation. The lesson comes from the life of Jeremiah. He was faithful to declare God’s message to a nation that had once known God well but had since turned away from Him. He was headed toward captivity under a nation that had become mightier than Israel. Many of the people and the national rulers got tired of hearing Jeremiah’s warnings, and they began to threaten him. The pressure upon him mounted to the point that he complained to God about trying to do right while suffering at the hands of evil men who seem to prosper.
God’s response to Jeremiah, which we find in chapter 12, verse 5, is very sobering and to the point. If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? God was using a comparison to establish a gauge by which Jeremiah could measure himself. God knew what was coming even if Jeremiah didn’t. If Jeremiah was going to remain God’s voice to a corrupt people, he needed to be able to stand in some hard times. Hard times were definitely on their way.
Think about this comparison. The average man weighs 197.9 pounds while the average horse weighs 1,400 pounds. An average man can sprint at a speed of 19 mph for a brief amount of time, while a horse can reach up to 55 mph. When measuring the capacity of machines, the term horsepower is used as a comparison. A healthy horse can pull 10–15 times its own weight a short distance, while the average man can pull less than twice his own weight under similar circumstances. A significant increase is seen in the capacity of the horse.
This comparison was meant for one primary purpose: to show Jeremiah how he was going to fare in the future, based upon how he was faring right now. The way he handled today was meant to be a divine gauge revealing how he would handle tougher times ahead. While that may not have felt very good, it was extremely valuable. God was doing Jeremiah a favor. Jeremiah was wrapped up in the difficulty of the moment and all the emotions clouding his thinking, so God presented this contrast to clear the air and to strip Jeremiah’s thinking down to sheer truth. He was to look at his current stamina as running with footmen in a battle, and then see much more difficult times ahead as contending with horses. This comparison would reveal to him how he would likely fare in the conflict yet to come. This would motivate him to shore up any revealed weaknesses by this comparison, in order to guarantee success and avoid embarrassment once the greater conflict arrived.
As we face the challenging circumstances of COVID-19, we should be wise enough to use this lesson as God instructed Jeremiah to use his. God has given us a gauge for where we are, by allowing us to go through something challenging but likely temporary and less damaging than many more challenges to come. Our situation can reveal to us where we really are and prepare us for even greater challenges in the future. Here are some thoughts on how this works.
Destroying emotional illusions
We often build up illusions about where we are. We like to think the best about ourselves as much as possible. It takes no effort at all to feel like I am strong, but those feelings can fail me once put to the test. At times, that can prove embarrassing. This is seen in the fact that the Bible warns us multiple times not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think. Our emotions, combined with our pride, make us think we are further along than we might really be. A trial like this one can strip back these illusions and help us see our true colors.
We can feel like we are facing a horse, but it might simply be a footman. We haven’t faced anything like this in our lifetime, especially as a church. We can label this a horse compared to what we have faced in the past, but some time of reflection will soon reveal that this is almost unquestionably a mere footman. When the time comes that we can be imprisoned for attending a service, we can call that a horse. Once our brothers or sisters in Christ begin losing their lives for proclaiming Christ, we are facing horses. COVID-19 is not a horse. It is a footman.
Revealing the future
Seeing how pastors and church members handle the footman of coronavirus lays out what we can expect when it gets really tough. We need this clarity. The struggles we feel in adapting because of coronavirus need to be a sobering prediction of how we will do when the pressure is so much greater. If Christians can’t be faithful to a livestream service or giving their offerings to the Lord through a local church now, they’ll inevitably melt once persecution comes. It is amazing how quickly Christians have become so casual before God just because they are in their living rooms instead of a church sanctuary. Other Christians have started acting like they are no longer members of a specific church by shopping for churches online through livestream and forsaking their own church’s services. The point is not to forsake other church’s livestreams; rather, it is to not forsake your own.
Thinking timelessly
A great benefit is found in adopting a timeless mindset. This mindset has served me well in times of confusion. I am susceptible to the pressures of today and being blinded by the culture in which I live. However, I have found incredible wisdom and insight in taking whatever I face and looking at it through two additional lenses: that of the past and that of the future. This exercise has a way of freeing me from the illusion and pressure of today’s pressing weight. What would this have looked like 50 years ago, 100 years ago, or even 1,000 years ago? And what could this look like 50 years in the future, 100 years in the future, or even 500 years into the future?
Do you think coronavirus is a horse? Go back and study the Spanish flu when the loss of children and infants was significant. Families lost their children by the scores. Have you studied any martyrs lately? Have you studied communist regimes of the past? Have you thought about what our loosening of expectations will look like in 50 years? Have you considered what your children will do, having watched you navigate through coronavirus?
The coronavirus is definitely a hardship. This is inarguable. However, it can also be valuable to us. We don’t need any illusions about where we are—no illusions about whether we have disciples or consumers. Casualties will occur through all of this. If you become one, maybe it reveals something about you that you didn’t want to see. Even the very struggles each of us have felt through this can be a measurement to use in determining areas we need to shore up. Running with footmen can weary us, but it should also cause us to strengthen our stamina and spiritual resolve so we aren’t devastated once the horses arrive.
They could be here sooner than we think.