*Originally published to ECC on March 20, 2020
I miss you all and treasure the time we can get together in worship. Sometimes I can see someone is not there and I can give them a call to make sure they are okay. But now, these three weeks, hopefully you are all okay at home. I am sure I am not alone in my longing to see you all face to face in this time of physical separation. Further, our lives have been disrupted in many other ways. Parents have their children home from school while they are trying to work. And look at the economic fallout that could stay with us for months, if not years. Just this morning I receive a phone call from my dentist office stating I will need to reschedule tomorrow’s appointment because their offices will be closed until the first week of April. What will this cost them (including all their employees)? So, I am sure, many are asking the question, what is God doing with COVID-19? Of course, God has given us common grace so that we have the medical professionals and the scientists to combat this illness. So, I thank God for them. We pray for our medical experts and scientific researchers that God uses them for the good of us all and that God protects them. Also, we pray for our brothers and sisters at ECC who are healthcare givers.
So, what is God doing with COVID-19? I have been reading the Bible and I want to share with you only a couple of thoughts at this time.
1) God uses Disasters to Call us — God is always calling out to all of us, but we do not always hear. God wants to be involved in our life. He calls all to return to him. He calls us to follow Him in trust and to fellowship with him. Consider Numbers 14:22, Jeremiah 19:18-20; Ezekiel 14 and Acts 16:25-40. In the Acts passage the Philippian jailer is traumatized when Paul is released from the prison (normally he would be severely punished, possibly executed for allowing a prisoner to escape). But after he asks Paul what to do, he finds new life in Christ. God calls out to us in many ways. He is calling non-Christians back to Him. He is calling us out of the world (Revelation 18:4). In Matthew 24 verses 6-8, God uses such disasters to call us to find our reliance in him. In Daniel 4 we see that God uses disaster to call the proud to humility. And in Jonah 2, especially v.7 he calls to prayer.
It is good God calls us; that means we are important to Him. While we don’t know what the future of COVID-19 holds for us we feel the need to pray. If the number of cases suddenly skyrocket as they did in Italy, we could see our medical system overwhelmed and people needlessly die simply because they could not get the care they need. Let us pray for our governing officials that they make good and timely policies. Not only this, but COVID-19 is reaping a great economic impact. And there is the long-term social impact, especially on children who will enter adulthood with this insecurity in their subconscious. Pray to God about these things. Not only pray for health. Pray for God’s provision and for his protection, especially those on the frontline such as first responders, those in healthcare, those who care for people in other ways (counselors for example). Let me know of someone you want me to pray for. Also, pray for wisdom and pray we know how to care for our neighbors. Pray for faith and for our witness.
2) God uses disaster to transform us — In Daniel 11:33-35 God speaks of bringing disaster to refine us. James 1:2-4 also links the testing that come from the different trials we face to God’s perfecting work. Sometimes God sends hardships like COVID-19 to change our attitude, to change our lifestyle and to draw us into a way of living more consistent with our faith. Could God be calling us to take our faith more seriously, to treat our possession more lightly, for example? During times of hardship such as we face with COIVD-19 come face to face with the question, is my faith in God or is it in what we can do for ourselves? We face the question do we trust God with this threat and hardship or do we question God’s integrity? God wants us to face such questions and wrestles through them to make us the best we can be. I pray we do become better people and better Christians and, as a result, a better society. Pray our leaders become better people as well.
As your shepherd, I want you know that we are in prayer for you and I hope you will be in prayer for one another. Let us pray urgently. Especially pray for those of us who are on the front lines with COVID-19, that God may protect them and use them. Feel free to share your prayer request with others so we can pray for one another. “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” Romans 12:12
The grace of the Lord be with you,
Pastor MacDonald