The Anthrax Scare
When planes slammed into buildings, for me, it was a continent away. “Just stay away from large crowds for a while,” I thought. Now the attack is through the mail! That is not only closer to home; it is in my house! One reporter said there is a “riptide of anxiety” in America. A medical director said, “It’s boarding on mass hysteria.” Has the events of this last week made you feel afraid? What should be our response?
Rely on God’s protection. The Bible is filled with promises that God will protect us. For example, the Psalmist says, “The Lord is my light and my salvation (that is, deliverance); whom shall I fear? (Ps. 21:1). The statistical failure of September 11th demonstrates that even in a direct attack, not all are hurt or killed. If the buildings hit and the planes lost had been filled and all died, 74,280 people that could have been killed. Of that number 93% survived or avoided the attacks. God protects, even in the midst of an attack.
Remember, be practical. In the midst of a storm at sea, Paul said God told him, “There will be no loss of life among you” (Acts 27:22). So, “Do not be afraid” (Acts 27:24). Later he said, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved” (Acts 27:31). God promises to protect, but our part is to be practical. The Post Office gives guidelines for opening the mail: isolate suspicious mail and notify authorities immediately.
Rest in the Grace of God. Does that mean that God will protect us in every case? Obviously not. Believers get disease, are disabled, and die. Two truths need to be kept in mind. 1.) Nothing can happen to believers who walk with the Lord, except God allows it. Of no fault of his own, Job, who was walking with the Lord, lost his servants, his livestock, and his children, but only because God allowed it (Job 1:8-12). 2. If God allows it, He will give grace for it. In a painful situation, God told Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9).
God protectsthose who walk with Him and those who walk wisely and if He permits problems, He will provide grace. The issue, then, is our relationship with the Lord.
Paul’s response to the problem God allowed in his life was, “I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Cor. 12:9).
David said the Lord will protect me (Ps. 27:1-3), but “One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple (Ps. 27:4).
When Job lost all, even his children, He worshipped (Job 1:20).
As the writer to the Hebrews said, “Be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’” (Heb. 13:5).
How to Handle the Anthrax ScarE When planes slammed into buildings, for me, it was a continent away. “Just stay away from large crowds for a while,” I thought. Now the attack is through the mail! That is not only closer to home; it is in my house! One reporter said there is a “riptide of anxiety” in America. A medical director said, “It’s boarding on mass hysteria.” Has the events of this last week made you feel afraid? What should be our response?
Rely on God’s protection. The Bible is filled with promises that God will protect us. For example, the Psalmist says, “The Lord is my light and my salvation (that is, deliverance); whom shall I fear? (Ps. 21:1). The statistical failure of September 11th demonstrates that even in a direct attack, not all are hurt or killed. If the buildings hit and the planes lost had been filled and all died, 74,280 people that could have been killed. Of that number 93% survived or avoided the attacks. God protects, even in the midst of an attack.
Remember, be practical. In the midst of a storm at sea, Paul said God told him, “There will be no loss of life among you” (Acts 27:22). So, “Do not be afraid” (Acts 27:24). Later he said, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved” (Acts 27:31). God promises to protect, but our part is to be practical. The Post Office gives guidelines for opening the mail: isolate suspicious mail and notify authorities immediately.
Rest in the Grace of God. Does that mean that God will protect us in every case? Obviously not. Believers get disease, are disabled, and die. Two truths need to be kept in mind. 1.) Nothing can happen to believers who walk with the Lord, except God allows it. Of no fault of his own, Job, who was walking with the Lord, lost his servants, his livestock, and his children, but only because God allowed it (Job 1:8-12). 2. If God allows it, He will give grace for it. In a painful situation, God told Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9).
God protectsthose who walk with Him and those who walk wisely and if He permits problems, He will provide grace. The issue, then, is our relationship with the Lord.
Paul’s response to the problem God allowed in his life was, “I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Cor. 12:9).
David said the Lord will protect me (Ps. 27:1-3), but “One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His templeme” (Ps. 27:4).
When Job lost all, even his children, He worshipped (Job 1:20).
As the writer to the Hebrews said, “Be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’” (Heb. 13:5).
© G. Michael Cocoris, 10/16/2001
Rely on God’s protection. The Bible is filled with promises that God will protect us. For example, the Psalmist says, “The Lord is my light and my salvation (that is, deliverance); whom shall I fear? (Ps. 21:1). The statistical failure of September 11th demonstrates that even in a direct attack, not all are hurt or killed. If the buildings hit and the planes lost had been filled and all died, 74,280 people that could have been killed. Of that number 93% survived or avoided the attacks. God protects, even in the midst of an attack.
Remember, be practical. In the midst of a storm at sea, Paul said God told him, “There will be no loss of life among you” (Acts 27:22). So, “Do not be afraid” (Acts 27:24). Later he said, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved” (Acts 27:31). God promises to protect, but our part is to be practical. The Post Office gives guidelines for opening the mail: isolate suspicious mail and notify authorities immediately.
Rest in the Grace of God. Does that mean that God will protect us in every case? Obviously not. Believers get disease, are disabled, and die. Two truths need to be kept in mind. 1.) Nothing can happen to believers who walk with the Lord, except God allows it. Of no fault of his own, Job, who was walking with the Lord, lost his servants, his livestock, and his children, but only because God allowed it (Job 1:8-12). 2. If God allows it, He will give grace for it. In a painful situation, God told Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9).
God protectsthose who walk with Him and those who walk wisely and if He permits problems, He will provide grace. The issue, then, is our relationship with the Lord.
Paul’s response to the problem God allowed in his life was, “I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Cor. 12:9).
David said the Lord will protect me (Ps. 27:1-3), but “One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple (Ps. 27:4).
When Job lost all, even his children, He worshipped (Job 1:20).
As the writer to the Hebrews said, “Be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’” (Heb. 13:5).
How to Handle the Anthrax ScarE When planes slammed into buildings, for me, it was a continent away. “Just stay away from large crowds for a while,” I thought. Now the attack is through the mail! That is not only closer to home; it is in my house! One reporter said there is a “riptide of anxiety” in America. A medical director said, “It’s boarding on mass hysteria.” Has the events of this last week made you feel afraid? What should be our response?
Rely on God’s protection. The Bible is filled with promises that God will protect us. For example, the Psalmist says, “The Lord is my light and my salvation (that is, deliverance); whom shall I fear? (Ps. 21:1). The statistical failure of September 11th demonstrates that even in a direct attack, not all are hurt or killed. If the buildings hit and the planes lost had been filled and all died, 74,280 people that could have been killed. Of that number 93% survived or avoided the attacks. God protects, even in the midst of an attack.
Remember, be practical. In the midst of a storm at sea, Paul said God told him, “There will be no loss of life among you” (Acts 27:22). So, “Do not be afraid” (Acts 27:24). Later he said, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved” (Acts 27:31). God promises to protect, but our part is to be practical. The Post Office gives guidelines for opening the mail: isolate suspicious mail and notify authorities immediately.
Rest in the Grace of God. Does that mean that God will protect us in every case? Obviously not. Believers get disease, are disabled, and die. Two truths need to be kept in mind. 1.) Nothing can happen to believers who walk with the Lord, except God allows it. Of no fault of his own, Job, who was walking with the Lord, lost his servants, his livestock, and his children, but only because God allowed it (Job 1:8-12). 2. If God allows it, He will give grace for it. In a painful situation, God told Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9).
God protectsthose who walk with Him and those who walk wisely and if He permits problems, He will provide grace. The issue, then, is our relationship with the Lord.
Paul’s response to the problem God allowed in his life was, “I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Cor. 12:9).
David said the Lord will protect me (Ps. 27:1-3), but “One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His templeme” (Ps. 27:4).
When Job lost all, even his children, He worshipped (Job 1:20).
As the writer to the Hebrews said, “Be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’” (Heb. 13:5).
© G. Michael Cocoris, 10/16/2001
