How to deal with the Fear of the COVID-19 Pandemic?

This article was first written for the national Department of Water and Sanitation, South Africa, and was published in the departmental quarterly news letter called, “DWSpeaks” end of March 2021. The primary audience were government employees working in the department, including all nine provincial departments in the country.

What a great privilege to share the gospel in the so called, “secular world!”

Here is the article as published in DWSpeak…

“The reality of the COVID-19 pandemic is undisputable. Over and above the statistics flying all over social media platforms, the pandemic has become every house-hold and person’s enemy. Behind the mandatory masks we’re all wearing is the fear of death threatening our lives at every turn. The fear of death is so real as some of us have already lost our loved ones, friends, and colleagues due to this deadly enemy called the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The reality is that fear, especially the fear of death, is the primary and the ultimate enemy of all people living this side of heaven called earth. On the contrary, people don’t want to die but to live happily forever here on earth. Listen to what God says in His Word, the Bible, in Hebrews 2:14-15, “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself [Jesus Christ] likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.” (Emphasis added).

There are two crucial truths contained in these two verses I’ve quoted above. First, all people living under the sun are suffering from “fear of death.” We are all slaves of “fear of death,” whether due to the COVID-19 pandemic or any other life-threatening circumstances. In fact, all of our lives revolve around protecting ourselves and our loved ones from death. Look at the kind of houses and fences we build, the amount of money we spend on medical aid, the consultation we do with medical doctors and witch doctors, and the list continues. 

Now, the big question we all should ask ourselves is: How can we deal with the fear of death that threatens our lives as people living under the sun? The answer is in Hebrews 2:14, which says, “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself [Jesus Christ] likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil.” (Emphasis added). The only way, according to the Bible, Jesus Christ could save the human race from the fear of death was for him to live his heavenly glories as part of the Trinity of God (Philippians 2:5-7), be like us by becoming a physical man with flesh and blood (Hebrews 2:14), face the same temptations we face (Hebrews 4:15), then die an innocent death as an atonement or punishment for our sins. Second Corinthians 5:21 puts this well, “For our sake he [God] made him [Jesus Christ] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

What I have just explained above is what is called the gospel or the good news of Jesus Christ. Instead of us facing the consequences for our sinful nature and conduct or lifestyle, Jesus Christ died in our place. Two of the benefits of believing in the gospel are mind-blowing: firstly, no more fear of death for those who trusted Jesus Christ for eternal life. For them, death is no longer a threat but a defeated and toothless enemy. It says in 2 Corinthians 15:56-57, “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” That’s the victory Christians have: No more fear of death and the power of sin over their lives.

Lastly, the gospel, also called union with Christ, helps them live in the newness of life that money cannot buy. It says in Romans 6:4, “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” To walk or live in the newness of life is to live a life that is free from the power of sin and death.  There is no other lifestyle that can compare to this.

And all those who are united with Jesus Christ live a joyful and fulfilled life advancing the agenda (i.e., the gospel of Jesus Christ) of the one who died for their sins. Listen to how the Apostle Paul puts it in 2 Corinthians 5:14-15: “For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.”

No life compares to living for Christ and his gospel; living without the fear of death; and free from the slavery of sin and fear of death. If they live, they live, more than anything, to promote the gospel of Jesus Christ instead of promoting themselves. Why? Because before the fall, human beings were primarily created to live for God and others. Yes, we find our greatest joy, meaning, and fulfillment when we live, first of all for God, then our neighbors. It says in Matthew 22:37-40, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

The point is, the best way to deal with the fear of pandemics such as COVID-19 is believing the gospel of Jesus Christ. Why? Because if you die, you win (Philippians 1:21), and if you don’t die, you help others live a joyful, meaningful, and purposeful life by helping them believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Mark 8:35 says it all, “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.”