“The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.” (Psalms 14:1-3 NIV)

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were many who refused to abandon what they considered to be their “rights” to have “fun”. Although most people diligently stuck to government recommendations and guidelines, there were those, young and old, who continued with their old ways of life. As lock-downs eased, house parties resumed in earnest. Some even calling these “COVID parties”, where the guest of honour was someone who had tested positive for the virus. Many were convinced that it was all a hoax. Others figured they were invincible, while still others simply didn’t care.

Meanwhile, across the globe hundred of thousands died. Many of these could have been saved if they, or those around them, had simply cared enough to follow recommendations and guidelines. Throughout all nations echoed the same message: “I want to have fun. No one has the right to take away my freedom!”

Isn’t this kind of like the “fools” of Psalms 14:1, the ones who say, “there is no God”? And in the midst of the trouble, sometimes it was hard to remember that there were any who had not fallen into the trap of caring only about themselves!

Personally, I never had a problem with adhering to government guidelines and recommendations. In fact, I veered in the opposite direction! I was wearing a mask in public places from day one, and I only went out into public when it absolutely could not be avoided. I didn’t even go out for a haircut. This was, in fact, one of the worst parts for me. Even after hairdressers were allowed to reopen, I still hesitated. What if the person cutting my hair, even though he or she wore a mask, was sick? What if they had only mild symptoms and didn’t know they were carriers? What if???

Of course, we all thought it would be over in just a couple weeks; however, when things drug out for months, my hair became so long that I felt like a girl. Because it is curly, I had absolutely no control over my hair, and when my wife came over one day and told me that she had found a safe place for me to have my hair cut, I was all for it. Imagine my surprise when she said, “Why don’t I cut your hair?”

Just to put things in perspective, the last time my wife cut my hair, she let the razor slip and shaved all the hair of one stripe of my head. She never wanted to touch my hair after that, and frankly, that was okay with me. Her reasoning now, however, was sound: “Is it possible for me to make it look … worse … than it currently does?”

And so she set out to cut my hair, and in the end, I was sure that was the best haircut I had ever had. My hair looked absolutely great!

David goes on to tell us in Psalms 14 that, “God is present in the company of the righteous.” (vs. 5b NIV). I have no doubt that God helped my wife, in the middle of the pandemic, to be able to cut my hair and leave me looking good again. When we put our trust in Him, as my wife did when she took up that razor, when we do not try to lean on our own skill and knowledge, God is present and good things happen.

I am so happy to have neat, short hair once again. Thank You, Lord, for being present in the company of the righteous!

In His love,
Rob Chaffart

(To access the entire “The Sling for God” devotional series, please click here.)