Over the past few weeks we have become aware of a new enemy that has taken thousands of lives. It’s called the corona virus. It started in China and has spread to various countries in Europe and has now been found in the United States. Wherever the media has revealed the news of the virus, people have become aware of the threat and have begun to take precautions to prevent it from affecting them. The news has as well created a fear that it might have the same consequences that thousands of others have succumbed to.

This is not the first threat of life that has taken place over the history of the world and it won’t be the last. Where we put our perspective is key to erasing the fears of threats. I was reading in I Samuel a passage that can help with the present fear. It’s a story of a different threat, but the same outcome of people that recognized the threat. It was a confrontation between the Israelites and the Philistines.

“While he was speaking with them, suddenly the champion named Goliath, the Philistine from Gath, came forward from the Philistine battle line and shouted his usual words, which David heard. When all the Israelite men saw Goliath, they retreated from him terrified.” I Samuel 17:23-24. The Israelites were threatened by death from Goliath, a giant that stood 9 feet, 9 inches tall and he was threatening their freedom and their lives. Their response was to run away terrified because they focused on his being able to overpower them and kill them. Whenever we put our perspective on Goliath or the corona virus, the result will be the same. Terrified. Fear. Running from the threat.

But when we put our perspective on God and His ability to be victorious over the threat, a different response occurs as in the case of David, a teenager with his perspective on a God who is victorious. David answered Saul, “Your servant has been tending his father’s sheep. Whenever a lion or a bear came and carried off a lamb from the flock, I went after it, struck it down, and rescued the lamb from its mouth. If it reared up against me, I would grab it by its fur, strike it down, and kill it. Your servant has killed lions and bears; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.” Then David said, “The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you.”” 1 Samuel‬ ‭17:23-24, 34-37‬ ‭CSB‬‬

In the above passage, David focused his mind on past circumstances in his life and how the Lord had saved him from the lion and the bear. How many times has the Lord answered your prayers in saving us from sickness or from an accident or from anything that could have threatened our life. David’s focus was on the God who is able and not on the present circumstance he was encountering, namely Goliath.

On this journey through life, there will be times when we encounter various things that threaten our life. We have a choice to focus on the threats or to focus on the God who gave us victory over the past threats we encountered. Today we need to take care not to put ourselves in the line of fire of threats that come, but we also need to see who the real Power is to take care of our daily threats.