The coronavirus pandemic has made a global impact on our society. Just a couple of weeks ago, word on this seemingly small issue had not picked up speed, until hundreds of casualties were met. From the looks of things, it seems like our world has come to a screeching halt. Schools, bars, restaurants and some small owned businesses have closed for risk of spreading the virus. Families are left to stay at home in quarantine, in hopes to contain the disease from getting to their neighbors or loved ones. People are faced with unemployment, un-paid bills, and the continuous threat the virus brings daily.
This morning, as I was reading my Bible, I journaled some thoughts about what’s been going on. This pandemic has made global history ! All around the world, we are hearing about the devastation this virus has caused. Healthcare workers are in high demand, along with medical equipment, and medicine. People are fearing the worst.
It’s almost like watching a scene from ” I AM LEGEND.” After a serious spread of a virus triggered by a vaccination that was meant to cure cancer, Will Smith’s character is left alone in a completely abandoned world with his dog in the hopes of finding a cure to the raging epidemic. There’s a scene where Will Smith is driving through New York City, and it looks invaded with growing trees and high grass. He even comes face to face with a lion, in the middle of Time Square ! I couldn’t help but replay that scene over and over again in my mind. Could you imagine if the world ever got to that point ? My mind can really start to wander.
However this morning, instead of turning on the news, instead of scrolling through my newsfeed on Facebook, I decided to sit with the Lord and pray. Then he reminded me ever so gently , “Christa you are not in control.” Ew, that’s tough. I agreed, however. “I know God, you’re in control.” I was led to the book of Job in the Bible. Job was counted as a righteous man before God, who suffered the loss of his family, his livestock, his property and his own health. Instead of cursing God, he praised him through his pain. Jobs goes onto wallow in his sufferings and asks what he has done to deserve such a penalty. God finally responds to Job’s appeal- and man, did I feel God speak this morning!
” Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? … Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements- surely you know?” Job 38:1-2,4
Could you imagine, if the God of the universe asked you this ? I think I would have immediately fell on my face. God continues to question Job all the while reminding Job who is in control. I challenge you step into Job’s shoes for a moment. What would your response be in this time of sheer fear and panic ? That may be hard to tell, but let me just say this.
If we believe that God created the heavens and the Earth, if we believe that he orchestrated the orbits and moons and planets to revolve around the sun, if he created you and I out of dust and fashioned the world to be what it is today, is He not able to continue to sustain us ? God led me to one of my favorite verses in scripture. “Be Still and know that I am God,” Psalm 46:10. It doesn’t say ” be still, and “know that you are in control,” or ” know that things will just work out.” It’s an immediate command to stop looking at our circumstances and remember who is with us! It’s a reminder that we can be still and rest assured that the God who created the heavens and the earth has got this!
From my previous blogs, I have written about my constant struggle with the ” what-if’s” that seem to run a muck in my head. So as they began to bombard me during this morning’s devotional, I flipped the script and made my ” what- if” collide with optimism. But what-if God was allowing this to happen, because he is in fact inviting us to turn to him and rest in his unfailing love ? What if God is using this to awaken a revival in our nation, in our world ? What if the time spent at home, causes us to actually stop, slow down, and relax for a change? What if he wants to hear the prayers of his children call out to him in humility and in love? What if spending time with loved ones will create a culture where family comes first ? And what if people stopped looking inwardly at their own issues and started looking to help their neighbors?
I don’t know the answer to all these “what-if’s ” but I do know that I had to refocus and acknowledge how BIG God truly is in the midst of such a critical time. God is in control, no matter what the outcome may be. God was not thrown for a loop when the outbreak of the virus occurred. He is not worried, nor does he fear what is coming next. Neither shall we! I want to leave you with a couple of verses from Romans 8: 31, 35 and 38-39.
” What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? … Who shall separate us from the love of Christ ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famines or nakedness, or danger or the sword? For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Nothing, no virus, no calamity, no fear, NOTHING can keep you from the love of God. He works all things out for good ( Romans 8:28). Pray for strength during this time. Spend time reading your Bible and ask God to reveal to you his sweet truths. Blast some worship music, like I did this morning and relish in his presence. Let’s not forget to Be STILL and remember that God can handle whatever we face. Nothing is too big for Him.
Beloved, there is HOPE!
BeLoved 