Where Is God in the Coronavirus Crisis?

Right where He’s always been

I’ve resisted writing about the coronavirus for over a month. But I’ve been spending a lot of time in prayer and trying to seek God’s face and his answer. And I felt led to share some of what I’ve been learning.

For to every matter there is a time and judgment; for the evil of man is great upon him. For he knoweth not that which shall be; for even when it cometh to pass, who shall declare it unto him? There is no man that hath power over the wind to retain the wind; neither hath he power over the day of death; and there is no discharge in war; neither shall wickedness deliver him that is given to it. (Ecclesiates 8:6–8, JPS Tanakh 1917)

I don’t know about you, but I’ve felt darkness/evil in the air all around me for a long time. My husband warned me in January that something bad was coming. I chose not to listen (I usually don’t listen…even though he’s always right about these things). I could have used that time to pray and prepare. Instead, I buried my head in the sand and kept telling myself everything was going to be okay.

Although I don’t think that last part was untrue (God will work everything out in the end for good — and his glory, and it will all be okay), I could have avoided being blindsided by this COVID-19 crisis if I’d just listened to my husband (my own personal prophet) and made the most of every opportunity to press in and seek God through prayer.

Fortunately, our God is a God of second chances … and third … and fourth…

I didn’t take time to pray before the crisis, but I’ve had plenty of time to pray since then. And the one word that keeps cropping up everywhere is peace.

We all need peace

The world is in trouble; there’s no doubt about it. All of us, in some way or another, have been thrust into difficult circumstances we couldn’t even have imagined a few months ago due to the coronavirus. Well, some of us (like me) couldn’t have imagined them; others (like my husband) could — and did.

People are getting sick and dying. Food (and toilet paper and other stuff) is running out. Church buildings are closing their doors. Businesses are shutting down that may never be able to reopen. Parents everywhere are being laid off if they’re not working from home. Their children are being homeschooled, and those in certain grades (like my older girl, who’s in her last year of elementary school) are missing out on graduations, class trips, and all the “last” things that make these grades so special. And maybe the only way we’re ever going to be able to get back out of our houses is to take some vaccine that nobody knows much about.

It’s easy to panic in the face of all this. Maybe you’re tempted to hoard supplies (I know I’ve been tempted to smuggle out more than the one allowed package of toilet paper once I was finally able to find it), anxiously watching the daily news briefings, or worrying over all the horrible things that could happen to you and your loved ones.

These are natural and normal human reactions to chaotic circumstances. But just because panic is a tempting reaction doesn’t make it your only — or even your best — choice. There’s another, better, option that is often easily ignored—the decision for peace.

What is peace?

Often, we think of peace as a sense of calm and contentment that just happens to fall on us every now and again. Maybe you felt a sense of peace when you took a day off in the middle of the week to go spend time at the beach or your favorite park — or when you heard the news that a loved one’s cancer hadn’t returned.

Peace isn’t just a sense of relief at something good that happened or something bad that didn’t happen. It’s the result of a choice we make even when the good doesn’t happen, or the bad does.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6–7, NASB)

Peace is something we can choose to walk in, even in the face of a global pandemic. Even when we fear job loss and start to worry about how we’re going to be able to feed our families.

We can make the choice to not let worry take over.

We can stop worry in its tracks by doing one simple thing — that thing I was too much in denial to do when my husband told me we should start preparing ourselves — praying.

Where does peace come from?

Peace starts with turning our eyes and hearts toward Jesus.

Not long before he was getting ready to face the most horrible experience of his life — and, arguably, the most horrible (certainly, the most earth-shaking) event that has ever happened in world history, Jesus offered words of encouragement to his disciples. And these words stand as encouragement for those of us living now who also follow him.

Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. (John 14:27, NASB)

Our peace comes from Jesus himself. Pause to meditate on the truth of that for just a moment. Despite the chaos, pain, and heartbreak we are encountering in the world today, we still have access to the greatest possible source of true peace.

And we can tap into that anytime we want simply by opening up our communication channels through prayer. Tell God what you’re afraid of … or angry or sad about. He’s not surprised by any of it. He knows what’s going on, and he knows how you’re feeling about it.

But what if you don’t know how to find God? Or you feel like he’s abandoned us all. Let’s take a brief look at how we can cling to some truths about God straight out of the Bible that will help us dispel the belief that he has just left us to fend for ourselves.

Where is God in the midst of the pandemic?

I will be forever grateful that God let me attend a spiritual retreat just a few weeks before the governor shut everything in our state down. It was a time of renewal and rest…with an opportunity for some art therapy thrown into the mix!

The task was to read Psalm 46 and focus on any verses or images that happened to jump out at us. That’s what we were supposed to paint.

The verse that jumped out at me was verse 6 (NIV):

Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

And that’s what I painted … the earth melting at the sound of the same voice that called it into existence in Genesis 1.

Just one chapter later, in Psalm 47:8 (NIV), the psalmist continues the theme of the sovereignty of God:

God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne.

Just as these words were true over 2,000 years ago, they’re true today. God is still on the throne. He still reigns. He still maintains absolute control…even over COVID-19. No one is going to get sick and die from the disease unless he allows it. In fact, nothing happens to any of us except the Lord allows it. It all has to pass through his hands first.

And not only does he maintain absolute control, but he loves us absolutely.

In Matthew 10:29 (NIV), Jesus proclaims:

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Resting in the knowledge that God loves us and cares for us more than any other part of his creation will help us find peace in the midst of whatever trouble life might bring us. In that state, we will be able to say with Job:

Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity? (Job 2:10, NASB)

Not that God brings the adversity. If you look further into that same chapter, you’ll see that Satan brought all that on Job … after he’d had a conversation with God. The adversity was a test of Job’s faith, which God knew he would pass with flying colors.

In the same way, difficulties in our lives can be opportunities for testing our own faith in God. And how we respond to trouble can show the rest of the world around us what we believe about God.

Where should we be in the midst of this pandemic?

No, this is not another message about the importance of staying home. This is a message of encouragement to get out there and do something for the kingdom of God, whether it’s to get out there physically and do something or to do something right from your living room.

We currently have a unique opportunity to share our faith in the goodness and sovereignty of God. Never before have people been more desperate for words of hope…and never before have we had so many online tools available with which to encourage others without actually having to come into personal contact with them. There has been a huge surge in the number of people who are expressing interest in the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association’s online evangelism and discipleship ministries, and they’re always looking for new volunteers.

Or do what I’m doing right now, and write your own Medium story.

Offline, we can sow seeds of love and grace by refusing to hoard supplies or — even better — sharing resources with those in need. We can share kind words with strangers as we walk through our neighborhoods, or we can (as my daughters and I did recently) wave and smile at people in community drive-through parades.

We can share God’s peace by choosing to remember his care and provision in times past…and sharing those stories with others.

And we can pray.

Let’s pray now

God, we rejoice in your sovereignty. We choose to remember that you are in control, and no illness can enter our lives without your divine permission. You alone hold the power of life and death.

We pray for those who have been and will be affected by coronavirus. We ask for complete healing over their bodies and continual peace over their hearts and minds. And we ask for speedy and complete recoveries.

We pray for all medical professionals. Please, protect them from this awful disease. Comfort them as they comfort others. Encourage them in the middle of the battle, and remind them that you are near.

Finally, God, we ask that you would help us be compassionate and quick to grieve with those who are grieving. Help us share in their sorrows and comfort them in their affliction.

Thank you for all you’ve done. Thank you for being in control, even when the world feels chaotic and scary. Help us turn our eyes to you in these moments and keep our gazes fixed on the cross. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

This story is published in Koinonia — stories by Christians to encourage, entertain, and empower you in your faith, food, fitness, family, and fun.

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