by:  Cris Corzine-McCloskey

I’m happy to announce Caring Counseling is back in business! We have all our precautions in place and are offering both in-house services and telecounseling. We have missed being able to serve you all, and are glad to be back on the front-lines during this time of need.

It didn’t take long being back to work before I got a feel for the toll this is taking on people’s mental health. Many are becoming discouraged, depressed, and afraid. Most of the people I have talked to are not as concerned about the virus as they are all the hoop-de-la that goes with it. And with Pritzker announcing another month of sheltering-in-place, I’m concerned about our community losing hope.

With all these sources shouting out negativity, it reminds me of the story of David and Goliath. Before David ever showed up with a slingshot and stone, Goliath had been terrorizing the Israelite’s for weeks. Every day he would strut in front of God’s chosen people and tell them all the terrible things he was going to do to them. The more the Israelite’s listened, the more demoralized they became.

What’s interesting is, no matter how scared Goliath’s threats made them feel, they made sure they never missed a syllable. The first thing they would do every morning was get up, get dressed, and run out to the battle line to listen to Goliath. And every day, they would get psyched out by all the trash talk they were hearing.

There is nothing new under the sun because that is precisely what we’re doing. Only we aren’t getting dressed, because pajamas have become the latest shelter-in-place attire. Each morning we grab our coffee and our junk food and turn on the news. We listen to the media and Facebook “experts” talk about all the horrible things that are going to happen to us. We are getting completely psyched out.

Over the past few weeks, I have been delivering the words I feel God wants you to hear in this season. Be Not Afraid. I have tried to package that message differently each week to avoid sounding too repetitive, but I am still beating the same drum. It’s the rhythm of Heaven. Be Not Afraid. Be Not Afraid. Be Not Afraid. I keep hoping if I beat my drum loudly enough, I can drown out the voice of the scary giant that is shouting in your ear.

Funny thing is, the voice doesn’t sound scary when you have the right perspective. This was proven in the story of David and Goliath when David showed up on the scene. He only had to hear Goliath one time before he called bull-crap on everything the giant was saying. David didn’t believe Goliath, because he believed God. He knew God had promised to be with them and had said He would never fail them. That was all David needed to know to give him the courage to pick up a slingshot and a stone. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Folks, we are now the ones who are living in a season that is literally history in the making. Just like David seized an opportunity to believe God and help his people, you can do that, as well. Turn off the news and help me sound out the message of Heaven to everyone you come across. Be Not Afraid. Be Not Afraid. And please, put on some pants. You don’t want to be telling your future grandchildren that you spent this season in your pajamas, terrorized by the television.

Categories:

Tags:

No responses yet

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.