What kind of emotion have you had the last few weeks–sadness, despair, anxiety, fear, hopelessness, longing, anger, and frustration? In times like these they are normal feelings. But as Christians we fight such feelings knowing that it’s really the devil who is getting to us and not God. I have seen many messages on Facebook and other places that remind us that God is Control. That message may be understood by Godly people who know how to put that statement in its proper perspective but to the ungodly, the unbeliever, it makes it sound like what is happening is God’s fault. If God were in control then why doesn’t he immediately stop it? Why would God allow such a thing to take place? Those questions are asked by unbelievers because they don’t really know God and therefore need a source to blame. Beware of making such statements without being prepared to give an answer for the array of questions that will follow.
Did God cause this? No. This is man’s doing. Sin is the ultimate reason behind such events. Now I am not one for all the sensational conspiracy theories that constantly bombard us. I think I have heard them all if not most of them. Surely, you have noticed as men we are scrambling to solve the problem. And we should be. Life is a blessing not to be taken lightly. I am encouraged that our country is concerned for the elderly. I am encouraged by the constant reminder of the diligence needed to respect one another in order to preserve lives. I am encouraged by those in our leadership who ascent to our need for prayer as we search. Therein we will be given answers. When we get them (and we will), I hope we will remember to enact a day of Thanksgiving as we do a day of Prayer.
I also hear people say “Where is God’? I understand and deeply sympathize with the question. We’ve all heard the song, “From a Distance” by Bette Midler. The chorus says, “God is watching us, God is watching us…from a distance.” The song has a good message, but it’s not completely accurate. God is watching us—but it’s not from a distance. He’s right here with you. As someone has said, “He’s not observing you through a telescope as you face the uncertainties of life; he’s right there with you. He’s not viewing you through a satellite when you’re going the fiery trials of life; he’s with you, offering you shade from the sun and relief from the heat. He’s not watching you from a remote heaven as you face the darkest hours of your life; he’s right there with you, and even the darkest hour cannot hurt you.”
In God’s scheme of things, we all experience difficulty, but we are seen through difficulty. Life is not easy, but we can be made great enough for life. We will not escape things that brings stress, but we are given strength and solace in tempestuous and trying times.
So many of these things happen to show us how fragile we are, how fragile life is. Where is our hope in life? It is in God. I would pray and hope that more people would see the need to come to the knowledge of who God is. He is the Almighty One who grants eternal life to all who would look to him. The message is plain as we see in the words of Helen Lemmel, “Turn our eyes upon Jesus. Look into his wonderful face. And the things of this world will grow strangely dim, in the light of his glory and grace.”
No one knows how long we will have to deal with this. But as the Irish saying goes, “Even though the night seem long, the dawn will come.” I suspect that we as a church will follow the guidelines of the state for now. We want everyone to be safe. We don’t want anyone to feel uncomfortable or obligated nor put anyone in that position. We don’t want to act carelessly with our faith. And certainly no one wants to be the person responsible for causing another to get sick.
So again, best practices, looking out for one another, respecting the mandates, praying for deliverance, keeping the faith, searching God’s Word, and using the common sense that God has blessed us with will get us through. Take comfort and be encouraged.
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