This is an unknown time for us as humans, but God is not in Heaven face-palming himself. He is not surprised by Covid-19. He wasn’t distracted by something else happening in the world that He missed this virus starting.
Just because God was not surprised by this doesn’t mean that this is what He wanted. This virus is not God’s will. It was not planned by Him and is not his judgement. Jesus died on the cross taking all judgment excluding end time judgement. We do not serve a God of judgement.
We must choose wisdom and not believe or fall victim to the lies that this is God’s judgement.
Choosing Faith
It is natural human emotion to be fearful when you hear about what's going on in the world. This is a normal human response and God understands that. He loves us so much that He doesn't want to leave us there.
In this time, we need to be a people who live by faith and not fear.
The very moment I call to you for a father’s help
the tide of battle turns and my enemies flee.
This one thing I know: God is on my side!
Psalm 56, verse 9
This needs to be our battle cry in these times, “God is on our side”. We need to decide if we are going to continue to partner with fear or choose faith. Maybe you have chosen fear as a response and you don’t want to live with that anymore. You can have a conversation with God about it.
It's really simple, just pray something like “forgive me for choosing to fear. I give this fear to you and I choose to trust you.” Let “God is on my side” be your declaration. When you feel yourself starting to get fearful, declare Psalm 56:9 “God is on my side”
Social Distancing
The media is full of how important social distancing is for the health of us all. I agree that we need to be wise about how we associate with people. There can be a fear that can lead us to social distancing but we are made for connection. Let’s find safe and wise ways to still love each other.
We live in a generation with social connection tools such as Facetime at our disposal. Let us be intentional regarding staying connected. We are the Light of the World and light shines best in darkness. Let’s take opportunities to love in creative ways.
Still the church
For those of us that can’t meet together for a Sunday gathering, we have come to a crossroads. We may not have the opportunity to gather as the church but we are forced to ask ourselves what it means to be the church.
In history, whenever there was a great move of darkness this was followed by a move of God. Let us seek spiritual intelligence to know what God has next for his people.
Covid-19 is not God's story. We need to be wise and prepared but we can’t afford to disengage from society. We are not created to be alone, isolation can lead to depression.
Sacrificial not selfish
You don’t need to teach a 2 year old how to be selfish. When you take their toy that you got them, they will yell “MINE!” even when we bought it for them. We have that inside us.
Let us as the church shine bright in this time. I love the words of Philippians chapter 2, verse 4, “Do not look out for your own interests but take an interest in others, too.”
People are looking for hope. In the words of Craig Groeschel, Pastor at Life Church, “We are a bunch of radical faith filled hope dealers”.
The virus is contagious but we have an opportunity to be contagious as well. Let’s be people who are contagious with God’s love and grace by spreading love and faith.
When the world grows darker the church has a chance to shine brighter.
Declaration
Say “God I thank you that you are on our side. I pray that you would reverse this sickness and that you would provide and strengthen vaccines.”
Barry Kirby is a disciple of Jesus Christ, living in relationship with Father God, through the power of the Holy Spirit. Barry works and worships with the Salvation Army based in Wellington, New Zealand.