It is like an internal cheer to boost morale or encourage each other especially when the outlook is overwhelming or grim. We must need to believe in each other. We need to be positive. We can each dig deep enough to make it happen. We’ve got this.
I’m all for encouraging one another! I believe a positive mindset is more productive than a negative one. And “We’ve got this” is a great expression of confidence in one another. Except when it’s not.
Think back to Christmas. We were one week away from launching a new year. Perhaps we were eager to set 2019 behind us and get a fresh start. January rolls along. Nothing too weird or out of the ordinary (except I win a disproportionate number of curling games - thanks mostly to my awesome third!). None of us expected the whiplash effect of March, April, May, and now June. Our culture and society is held hostage by a microbe. Our health is at risk. The economy is at risk. And then the spotlight is cast on multiple social injustices. Suddenly the world seems to be spinning in the opposite direction. We’ve got this.
I’m not going to enter the realm of prophetic-interpreters and end-of-days doomsayers. I will say this, though. We don’t have this. That which we considered immutable and unshakable has suddenly demonstrated its vulnerability.
The problem isn’t that these things have changed. Really, it isn’t about microbes, stock markets, or social dynamics. Those things are all very important - they are part of God’s created order. The true problem is our sense of security is based on a sustainable healthcare system, stable financial markets, and equity in the justice system. And none of those really exist. We may believe they do, and sometimes they appear to, but as we have learned over the last 4 months, none of them is an impenetrable source of security.
It reminds me of James’ caution: “Don’t say, ‘today or tomorrow we will do this or that . . .’ Life is like a vapour. It comes and goes. Instead, say, ‘If God wills, we will do this or that” (James 4:13-17 - Graham’s loose paraphrase). James’ point is we really don’t have control. Only God does. We don’t have this.
Words matter. Here is the good news. The sons of Korah wrote this in Psalm 46:
God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear,
Though the earth should change,
And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea.
Be still and know I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations.
I will be exalted in the earth.
The LORD of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold.
God’s got this.
