We are all being affected, if not infected, by the coronavirus. Within a matter of days, all our lives have been rearranged by one microscopic threat. Something unseen to the naked eye has the power to close our schools, shut our church doors and scramble to locate toilet paper like ants to honey.
As silly as a toilet-paper hunt may sound, the gravity of such response speaks volumes to the core of our reality:
You and I have very little power and control over the most significant things in our lives.
We haven’t a clue what will be on our plates next month, let alone in the next 24 hours.
This being true, what is our normal “knee-jerk” reaction?
We almost automatically put ourselves in the place only God deserves and only God can fulfill perfectly: taking it upon our own shoulders to figure everything out and keep things in order.
What does this tell us?
We crave control.
What else does it tell us?
The control we crave cannot come from our end of things.
Truth as this is, what response are we witnessing within the very walls of our homes?
I will humbly confess what you’d see inside mine:
Bitey words to enforce stringent rules of hygiene
Overcompensated vigilance over another’s comings and goings
Irritability towards one another due to normal schedules being thrown into disarray
A more inward self-focus as we close ourselves off to the inner needs of others
A mixed accumulation of fear, annoyance, complaints, doubt, and frustration which becomes a ticking time-bomb in us...exploding at any given moment
What does this tell us?
We are quick to seek after one thing : Our own desire for our own comfort
“For you are still controlled by your own sinful desires. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn't that prove you are controlled by your own desires?
You are acting like people who don't belong to the Lord.“ 1 Corinthians 3:3 (NLT)
Ouch. I don’t like to hear this. I bet you don’t either. But the truth stares us down like the eyes of a hawk on a field mouse. We are doomed. We need rescue.
Precisely.
I invite you to let this Scripture passage be to your heart and mind like a soothing salve to an angry wound:
“You want what you don't have, so you scheme and kill to get it.
You are jealous for what others have, and you can't possess it, so you fight and quarrel to take it away from them.
And yet the reason you don't have what you want is that you don't ask God for it.
And even when you do ask, you don't get it because your whole motive is wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.
You adulterers!
Don't you realize that friendship with this world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again, that if your aim is to enjoy this world, you can't be a friend of God.
He gives us more and more strength to stand against such evil desires. As the Scriptures say,
“God sets himself against the proud,
but he shows favor to the humble.”
So humble yourselves before God.
Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.
Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you.
Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, you hypocrites.
Let there be tears for the wrong things you have done.
Let there be sorrow and deep grief.
Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy.
When you bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honor.”
James 4:2-4, 6-10 (NLT)
So humble yourselves before God.
Admit your dependence on Him.
There is nothing wrong with seeking order and seeking safety. But according to God, it is wrong to seek such from a place of control versus a place of submission.
Submission to a perfect God, our Perfect Rescuer, the Perfect, Sovereign Holder and Controller of the Universe.
What does this tell us?
We are not abandoned
We are not left to ourselves
We are not without help
We are not alone
We are in His perfect care
We can trust His perfect work
We are victors, not victims
We are not God, He is. Period.
So how ought this Truth change our going forth, specifically in the blunt front of Covid-19?
We each have been given ability, by God, to choose.
Consider the following 2 choices our Sovereign King and Ruler of the universe gives us:
Order our home-life with inner heart change as our goal, regardless of our changing situation and circumstances. Let the “secondary” have its way so the “primary” comes shining through! (Consider James 1:2-12)
Let our lack of control be a catalyst for praising the God who controls all, for our good and His glory. (Consider anew Romana 8:28-9 and Psalm 4)
Prayerfully allow the Holy Spirit to coach you to insight and action with these 3 questions:
Describe how God would like your family to “be” as a result of this coronavirus pandemic?
What is God inviting you to change/rearrange in your own heart so this be so?
What specific thing, action, reaction, desire, etc will you commit to God, for Him to work, allowing Him to touch with His healing/sanctifying power? How will this be evidenced by others?
Therefore...What does Covid-19 tell us?
“God blesses the people who patiently endure testing. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.“ James 1:12 (NLT)