The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Psalm 23:1-4 (KJV)
As I write this, we are about two weeks into the worldwide Corona Virus (Covid-19) pandemic. The world around me is, very understandably, living in fear and isolation. Governments are, correctly, telling us to stay in our homes and to only venture out for essentials, keeping two metres apart. We seem to have lost hope, and a few are even expecting to die. We have horded essentials such as meat, fresh food, but especially soap and toilet paper. When we venture out, we wear face masks and treat each other with suspicion. Hope seems to have deserted us!
As I write this, we are about two weeks into the worldwide Corona Virus (Covid-19) pandemic. The world around me is, very understandably, living in fear and isolation. Governments are, correctly, telling us to stay in our homes and to only venture out for essentials, keeping two metres apart. We seem to have lost hope, and a few are even expecting to die. We have horded essentials such as meat, fresh food, but especially soap and toilet paper. When we venture out, we wear face masks and treat each other with suspicion. Hope seems to have deserted us!
This a very understandable, but worldly, reaction but “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2) So what is the spirit telling us is God’s will in this pandemic! I am obviously not listening hard enough, because I have absolutely no Idea! And I am not sure many people can say any different. The only thing left for us to do is see what we know from the Bible
From the beginning, God, the creator had purpose in creating the heavens and earth and all therein (Gen 1). It was not just an idle whim. He created us in his image with free will. He created us knowing the first Adam would fail in his purpose (Gen 3), God’s purpose was always that the Second, perfect, Adam would redeem us all. With sin defeated, God will return to live with us and have a loving relationship with us for all eternity. This was, is and always will be his plan and “not even the gates of Hades will over come this” (Matthew 16:18). We also know that God knew that the Corvid-19 pandemic would come, it would be fatal to some, some would recover whilst others it would not be affected at all. I will finish this thought below.
From the beginning, God, the creator had purpose in creating the heavens and earth and all therein. It was not just an idle whim. He created us in his image with free will. He created us knowing the first Adam would fail in his purpose, his purpose was always the the Second Adam would redeem us all. With sin defeated, God will return to live with us and have a loving relationship with us for all eternity. This was, is and always will be his plan and “not even the gates of Hades will over come this” (Matthew 16:18). We also now that God knew that the Corvid-19 pandemic would come, it would be fatal to some, some would recover whilst others it would not be affected at all.
We also know from the Bible, that nothing happens without God’s permission. For example in the book of Job, in the opening chapter, Satan has to ask God’s permission before he, Satan, test’s God and Job’s faith. Please do not hear what I am not saying, God did not cause Job to suffer, rather Satan did. As with the Covid-19 pandemic, we do not know who or what started the pandemic, but we do know that whomever or whatever started this pandemic sought God’s permission. So there must be a purpose to the pandemic, a purpose within God’s overall purpose for everything.
We also know from the Bible, that nothing happens without God’s permission. For example in the book of Job, in the opening chapter, Satan has to ask God’s permission before he, Satan, test’s God and Job’s faith. Please do not hear what I am not saying, God did not cause Job to suffer, rather Satan did. As with the Covid-19 pandemic, we do not know who or what started the pandemic, but we do know that whomever or whatever started this pandemic sought God’s permission. So there must be a purpose to the pandemic, a purpose within God’s overall purpose for everything.
The final thing to point out that we know from the Bible is “that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to his purpose.“(Romans 8:28). I have already stated that this pandemic has a God given purpose, what that purpose is I have no idea and would not like to even speculate on. But we do know that in this pandemic God is working for the good of those that love him.
What can we conclude from these three facts I drawn from the the Bible? In reverse order, God is working for our good with a purpose, within his overall purpose to live with us for all eternity. Therefore God is, was and always will be the unchangeable, loving omniscient God. So, we can “walk through the valley of the shadow of death, [we] will fear no evil: for thou art with [us]; thy rod and thy staff they comfort [us]”. For our hope is the Lord and not in the world, it is a Hope that does not disappoint us Romans 5:5.
