Having an 'Even-If' Attitude About the Coronavirus Pandemic

COVID-19 has affected everyone over the world. Every area of our lives has been affected. People are dealing with safety measures the best they can even though some are more nonchalant about it.

Some people are grieving the loss of loved ones, loss of dining out, loss of entertainment, and loss of those familiar hugs. Some people are dealing with the pandemic with fear and trembling while others are taking a different approach.

Daniel's Hebrew friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, were thrown into a fiery furnace according to the order of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. Because the boys refused to bow down to the king's image, they were thrown into a fire that was turned up seven times hotter than usual.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego trusted God to come to their aid. They knew God was able to rescue them from the fire one way or another. Therefore, they never prayed that God would change the king's mind. They never prayed to be kept out of the furnace or to be removed from the furnace once they were in it.

Instead, they had enough faith to believe that God would protect them and bring glory to His name. The boys left their dire situation up to God instead of telling Him what to do. They were confident that if God decided it was best for them to die, they were ready.

Too often we pray that God will get out of a fiery furnace. That might not be God's plan at all. God's plan might be to get in the furnace with us to deliver us in a way we never thought was possible.

The boys said, "If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king." They also stated, "But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hath set up." In other words, the Hebrew boys believed God would deliver them, but even if He didn't, they still would not bow down to the golden image.

God did not put the fire out, but He could have. God did not cause King Nebuchadnezzar to change his order, but He could have done so. God did not keep the Hebrew boys out of the fire, but He could have. What God did was more miraculous.

"Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son" (Daniel 3:25). Some situations, like a fiery furnace and a pandemic, are handled better when God is in it with us.

That happened with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego thousands of years ago. So, what does it have to do with me in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic?

God's principles don't change. Therefore, I use the Even-If principle that the three Hebrews used. I go through a series of even ifs to arrive unbound and unharmed and out of the fiery furnace not smelling like smoke.

I use the same approach concerning COVID-19 that I use to make most decisions. I make decisions based on biblical principles. Dealing with COVID-19 is no exception. I use the Even-If approach that the three Hebrew boys used when they were thrown into the fiery furnace that is recorded in Daniel 3.

I do my part by obeying the laws of the land by keeping social distancing and wearing a mask. I participate in my own blessings and for the safety of others. For instance, I treat wearing a mask like the Golden Rule by doing unto others as I would have them do unto me (Matthew 7:12).

Even if I have a fever and a cough, that doesn't mean I have the coronavirus. Even if I do test positive for COVID-19, it doesn't mean I will get sick as unto death. Even if I get sick, it doesn't mean I will be hospitalized. Many people have self-quarantined and have been restored.

Even if I need to go to the hospital, it doesn't mean I will be placed on a ventilator for weeks at a time. Even if I am placed on a ventilator, it doesn't mean I won't eventually get well.

Here is the beautiful part. Even if I die, I will go to God. Paul says he was torn between living and dying. He summed it up by saying "to live is Christ, to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21). That's exactly what I believe.

As you see, a lot of "Even-Ifs" would have to take place before I die of COVID-19. Even if I die, it is not a bad thing because I will gain even more.

I don't stay awake at night worrying about the virus. Instead, my attitude about it comforts me. However, what works for me might not work for everyone. If you find my method to be one you can use, then by all means adopt the "Even-If" principle as your own.

My "Even-If" approach is based on my faith, my relationship with God, and my view of death. All people should self-evaluate and live according to what they believe. That way they can be confident that they can come out of this COVID-19 pandemic unharmed. But even if they don't, it will be well with their soul.