No matter where we live, COVID-19 is taking over all aspects of our lives even if we don’t have the respiratory virus—it affects where and how we work, what we watch on TV and even how we walk down the street. While some people are rapidly losing their health, others are losing their jobs in record numbers. How can people of faith keep positive among such sadness and be forward-thinking about what we can learn from this pandemic?
We know from 1 Peter 5:10: “But after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called us to His eternal glory through Christ Jesus, will restore, support, strengthen, and establish you.”
Keeping that in mind, Dr. Cindy Trimm, author of more than 30 books, with her three best-selling books, Commanding Your Morning, The Rules of Engagement for Spiritual Warfare and her latest release, Goodbye Yesterday, having sold over 1 million copies, offers six practical and engaging ways to empower the faith community so we can proactively manage the challenging days before us.
—Equip parishioners and congregants to think of themselves as industry-specific problem solvers, not just members of a church. A lot of our parishioners are professionals. Encourage people to think of themselves as industry-specific leaders and problem-solvers. And then create interorganizational, intraorganizational response teams. By helping people to be response ready, work with health care and front line professionals and deploy, pray for and support government social agencies and those who are on the front line. As a faith-based community, we do have a powerful voice socially, politically as well as spiritually. And we can speak with wisdom into the institutions and systems. We can empower our people to understand that they’re not just looking for solutions. We are the solution. And if there’s ever a time where we can respond with wisdom, compassion and counsel, we the people of God can do it. In my dreams, I see a world filled with visionaries, innovators and dreamers who push humanity forward.
—Lobby government to create biosecurity and biosafety measures, especially if you’re dealing with things like aquaponics, bioengineering and other kinds of technological activities. That means if we’re lobbying with the government, we should be able to create pressure groups to create regulatory statutes and laws so the government can draft new public policies. We need to rethink health care and increase funding for public health. Currently, there is no vaccine or medication for the coronavirus, but if increased funding had been available beforehand to the public health sector, which addresses a range of matters including chronic disease prevention and bioterror rhythm and emergency preparedness, headway could have already been made toward coronavirus vaccine development. Instead, scientists are scrambling to create a vaccine amid the pandemic. This scenario illustrates how chronic underfunding of public health has consequently caused health practitioners to function in a reactionary manner versus taking a proactive approach to disease prevention and medicine.
—Reinvent yourself. We are moving into an era of AI, algorithms, robotics and all kinds of technological advancement. A lot of people are running scared, but we can upgrade our skills because there are going to be new skills that are going to be needed. And here’s the caveat: We are going to lose a lot of jobs to technology, but for every one job that we lose, 2.5 jobs are going to be created. We have to think about going back to school. We have to be able to gain a new skill set. We should be brushing up on new technology and really anticipating the changes that will happen within our profession and continue to build capacity by using the internet for education and not just for entertainment.
—Don’t Listen to Conspiracy Theories. There are so many conspiracy theories. And I also often say that critical thinking is one of the skills of the 21st century. Toffler, and I quote him, said, “The skill of the 21st century is the ability to learn, unlearn and relearn.” You’ve got to be careful with this force of your information that you’re not knee-jerking. For instance, people are blaming the coronavirus on 5G. But if people are exposed to radiation, they’re not going to get a cold. They’re not going to get a virus. With the symptoms of radiation, people waste away and they lose their hair. They’re not going to get a viral infection from any radiation disease. Make sure those you are listening to and those who are sending you these conspiracy theories are individuals who know what they’re talking about.
—Take Care of Yourself. Find ways to distress in your home. You can exercise. If you don’t have exercise equipment, put on your happy music and dance. It’s also a great time to read—I’ve been telling everyone to read, read, read! Also, clean and declutter. We have nothing but time. Decontaminate the surfaces, disinfect—declutter your home and your living spaces.
—Pray. Faith and prayers are spiritual technology with long-term social, spiritual, economic, political and cultural implications. Prayer is not only a spiritual practice, but it’s also a practical principle, and so we need to pray for the front line. Pray for healthy immune systems. Pray for caregivers and health professionals. I was looking at an article about a truck driver. We don’t usually think of truck drivers who are delivering food, but anyone that’s on the front line, pray for them. Pray for the government and government agencies. Pray for wisdom; pray for medical and scientific breakthroughs. Pray for healing miracles. {eoa}
Dr. Cindy Trimm has dedicated her life to serving God and humanity. A best-selling author, Trimm is a sought-after empowerment specialist, revolutionary thinker and transformational leader. Her best-selling books The Prayer Warrior’s Way; The Art of War for Spiritual Battle; Hello, Tomorrow! and Commanding Your Morning have sold more than 1 million copies combined.
