Dread has become the most dangerous virus now stalking our nation. Psalm 91:6 addressed the issue of dread, “Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday.”

The Cambridge Dictionary defines dread as “to feel extremely worried or frightened about something that is going to happen or that might happen.” Dread is the constant fearful expectation that something terrible is happening or will happen. It is the result of a shift in our focus from hope to hopelessness. As a result of that shift, dread enters our thinking.  

This current global pandemic will pass, but dread will remain to return again if we do not challenge its presence.  It will return if we did not learn to live in the truth of the opening verses of Psalm 91, “Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him.” 

Rest and trust are the only known antidote against the virus of dread. We need to repeatedly inject our thoughts with rest and trust and declare that God alone is our only refuge and our place of ultimate safety. That injection of truth will destroy the virus of dread and return to us a proper perspective on how to live in a challenging moment of history.