Covid-19 vs. God's Word

            I put off this blog post for a very long time.  I have been thinking deeply on how to write, what to write, when to write, concerning our current world crisis.  I confess, when things first came out I was hesitant to admit there was even going to be a problem. I was so used to the way people react to a snowstorm coming (running out to buy milk, bread, and water) that I was turned off to the crazy antics of the human nature’s seeming need to “panic.” We as a culture are great at doing that.

            Now that I see that it isn’t a snowstorm rush for bread, I have taken a step back to look at things.  This isn’t just a blog for western Pennsylvania folks anymore.  What would readers from all over the world need to hear that they haven’t heard already?  An almost impossible task, the media, Facebook, news channels, Instagram, and other social avenues have played this tune to death.  We have heard every possible chant, cry, voice of reason, and voice of wisdom there is about the current crisis.  There most likely isn’t anything new to tell.

            One thing that I commend people for, is that it seems like the church has stepped up to the plate to keep people fed. There has been a surge of “spiritual food” distribution over the Internet, as people can’t be in contact with one another right now.  Sermons are being posted.  Messages of encouragement are being passed around.  Memes shared with others bring a sense of hope.  This morning I even got a video prayer sent to me.  We as a church are being creative, and with the Holy Spirit’s help we are ministering to other people without the need of face-to-face contact.  Praise God for that.  I’m both impressed and encouraged that God’s people are not just thinking, but actively doing.

            With all that said, I thought to post one of my favorite go-to passages of the Bible for times of crisis.  I’m sure that other people have already run to it, and so I’m not claiming a new fix for our situation.  I’m simply restating what God’s Word already says, hoping that it will soothe the soul and minister through to the right soul who needs it, refreshing them in hope and trust.  God’s Word is stable like no other.

Psalm 121

I lift up my eyes to the hills.

From where does my help come?

My help comes from the Lord,

who made heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot be moved;

he who keeps you will not slumber.

Behold, he who keeps Israel

will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is your keeper;

the Lord is your shade on your right hand.

The sun shall not strike you by day,

nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all evil;

he will keep your life.

The Lord will keep

your going out and your coming in

from this time forth and forevermore.

            I read that passage and dwell on it. I dive into its words and wonder of its meaning.  Is there more to it than what we see on the surface?  Is there a deeper meaning to the way the Lord protects His people?  Does God always protect us in the way that we anticipate?

            My biggest fear through this entire world crisis is that God’s ways might be misunderstood.

            I understand that the sentence that I just typed might be taken as some sort of heresy.  But let’s just go with it for a minute.  What if…

            What if through all this social media blast of God’s Word and His promises, a Christian out there somewhere gets the virus.  What if no matter how many times a believer has read through passages like the one I detailed above, they come down with Coronavirus?  With the whole world in a protective bubble, will only people who don’t believe God’s Word and His promises be the ones who contract this sickness? What if that is not the case? What if… one of God’s own children happens to get sick?

            My post today is one of real concern. Not because it might happen, but because of the consequences of it.  You see, when bad things happen to good people, the auto-response to the situation is usually a “Why?”  It happens all the time.  It has happened to me countless times in my life.  I’m the kid who had asthma.  I’m the guy who lost a wife.  I’m the one who is going through current problems with my health- my brain injury that doesn’t seem to be getting any better.  I’ve faced those “why?” questions.  I’ve faced many.  

            The real problem that I see the world facing right now will be the dilemma that those will face who are Christians or Believers who contract this disease and wonder why God didn’t protect them from it. It is a natural question to ask, and most likely will set people back in their faith and walk with the Lord. This post, hopefully, will keep people from doing that.

Isaiah 55:8-9

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts.

            If God’s Word never returns void, does this mean we are to turn our backs on Him if something bad happens to a good person?  If one of us comes down with the virus, should we say God’s promises are a bunch of fluff?  If the “sun does smite us” or the “moon by night” hurts us, does that mean that God doesn’t care?  Does it show that God is a fake?  Does it mean that He doesn’t back up what His Word says?

            Certainly not.

            But how do we process this?

            There was a boy named Joseph who was stripped of his robe of many colors, thrown into a pit without water, sold into captivity, and falsely accused and put into a foreign prison.  Did God forsake him?

            There was a man named Job who had all his children taken from him in one day.  He lost his possessions.  He lost his health.  He was in such pain and torment that his own wife told him to “curse God and die.”  Did the Lord forsake him?

            There was a guy named David, who was a righteous man.  He delivered God’s people, giving them victory over their Philistine oppressors.  He slew the giant.  He was a war hero.  Yet his life was sought and he flew into hiding.  He lived in fear of his life.  His own son later tried to do the same, attempting to kill him as Saul had tried.  David’s life didn’t seem fair.  Even in a situation that seemed so hopeless, so far from the promises that he himself would pen with God’s inspiration… was he without God’s hope?

            Jeremiah.  Enough said.

            Paul.  How much did he endure and yet saw through hardships to the Living God who never forsook him.

            Jesus Christ, the “Man of Sorrows” who hung on the cross for you and I, in the awful moment that God in human skin cried out to the Father “Why have You forsaken me?” and the moment that God’s punishment your sin and mine somehow supernaturally changed the fellowship Jesus had with His Father… was God’s Word true then?

There is a man, a woman, or a child out there with Corvid-19, laying in bed, who did all the right things in life and is faithful to the Lord, yet came down with the virus.

            If you or I get Covid-19, does God’s Word fail to hold true?  

Hebrews 13:8

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

            My post today might be to a very limited number of people in the world.  In fact, it might only be one soul.  To that man, woman, or child, who is questioning God right now, wondering if there really is a God out there and wondering if His words are all superficial- to you my heart cries for.

            In the same way He didn’t leave Joseph, Job, David, Jeremiah, Paul, countless others, and His own Son- the Messiah, God will not abandon you.  Even if our own human minds cannot understand, if we cannot comprehend, if we cannot see past this finite and physical world… there is a God right beside you whose ways are higher than yours.  His thoughts are above yours.  His truth is above us all.

            And His Word still stands.

            My prayer today is that if you are out there searching, wondering, questioning… it might be incredibly hard… but I plead with you to turn into the Lord and not away from Him.  Dig into Him deeper.  Read Psalms 121 again.  Ask God to show you how it still holds true in your situation, no matter if the world (and Coronavirus) is telling you different.  Never give up.  Cling to the Lord with your full attention and rest in the embrace that He will supply for you.

            I hope that none of us come down with this.

            But if we do…

            God is still the same.

            Dig in deeper.

By Chuck Carr