The world seems to be in panic, anxiety and chaos due to
the Coronavirus “pandemic” and efforts to control it…or us. It could be both.
But that is not the reason for this article. Yes, the world could be labeled as
a “disorganized circus” right now, but there is more going on than a
presidential election and a bunch of conspiracy theories, riots, protests,
viruses and control-freaks trying to rule the world.
The bottom line for me to ponder is this: “why is God
allowing all this to happen? What is His Divine Purpose for letting so
many wild and vicious cycles of human sinfulness play out across the globe?” It
is outside the realm of human logic and mortal reasoning. However, we can still
ponder the “why” of it all.
First, we start with Isaiah 55:8-9, “‘For my
thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the
Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than
your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’”
We must realize that with all His authority and power, God
could easily eradicate all that plagues this world with one, single, solitary
command. He simply can because He is the sovereign Ruler over all that He has
created. But, He isn’t doing that as He is allowing things to “play out” and “happen”
for a purpose greater than what we can see now.
2 Chronicles 20:6, “O
Lord, God of our ancestors, you alone are the God who is in heaven. You are
ruler of all the kingdoms of the earth. You are powerful and mighty; no one can
stand against you!”
Psalm 135:5-6, “I know the
greatness of the Lord—that our Lord is greater than any other god. The Lord
does whatever pleases him throughout all heaven and earth, and on the seas and
in their depths.”
Just given these few verses and combined with all I have
learned theologically over the past twenty-five years of ministry, I can rest assured
that God has a plan for why the world is in the shape that it is in currently.
He can allow the evil of man’s heart to be used for His good purposes. He can
arise beauty from the ashes of our humanness.
Isaiah 61:3, “To all who mourn
in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead
of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they
will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory.”
We have a saying in the military that I’ve learned to adapt
to my own life which is, “Sometimes you have to lose a few battles in order
to win the war.” I think that is what is going on here. Yes, God can
completely stop, change, a fix everything with one, single command, right now. But,
He also allows things to happen and unfold in order for them to culminate into
a powerful outpouring of His will, plans, and purposes for us.
One of those main “reasons” for working this way is to
reveal to us our need for Him. Amongst our hardships and chaos in the
world, are we willing to turn to Him in dependence, love and obedience?
There are many stories in the Old Testament where God
allowed tragedies, death, war, trouble, hardships and pestilence to occur in
order to get His people’s attention. It is not any different for us. We always need
to be spiritually alert, aware, and cognizant of all the events going on around
us in our County, City, State, Country and World.
If we’ll be honest, many of the issues we face are of our
own doing (self-inflicted) and because we turned a blind-eye to evil around us,
refused to take our faith seriously, or because we still went ahead and elected
substandard, corrupt and evil leaders to govern us. All this, and more, results in exactly what we
are experiencing now with the COVID-19 pandemic. Human nature, left unchecked, can
get quite ugly.
The good news in all of the mayhem and uncertainty is that we
can be assured that God, our Father, is still in control and working out His purpose.
Where there is even MORE good news, is although He allows certain things to continue
to happen (i.e. riots, hatred of the President, corruption, pandemics, etc) there
comes that pivotal moment when He says, “that’s enough; no more!”
Isaiah 54:17, But in that coming
day no weapon turned against you will succeed. You will silence every voice raised
up to accuse you. These benefits are enjoyed by the servants of the Lord; their
vindication will come from me. I, the Lord, have spoken!”
Romans 8:34-39, “Who
then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to
life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand,
pleading for us.
Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s
love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are
persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As
the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being
slaughtered like sheep.”) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is
ours through Christ, who loved us.
And I am convinced that nothing can ever
separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,
neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers
of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the
earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us
from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
I think it would be spiritually healthy if we stopped
giving in to fear, anxiety, and the stress of all the uncertainty around us and
start looking for the “mystery of God” found within what “it” is that He is
working through all the situations that confuse, anger, or bewilder us. A lot
is being done and a lot is being said…but, still, we should not fear.
Bottom line, God is up to something…and it is
good….which is His purpose and will to make us fully realize He loves us and
wants what is best for us. It is a design to invite us to draw closer, deeper
and to become more intimate with Him. The closer we are to God, the more He desires
to reveal these things to us. Life will never make sense if you keep your distance,
refuse to turn to God or ever draw any closer to Him.
All that is going on around us in word and dead can only
continue as far as God allows. It simply cannot prevail and have the final victory
over what God has planned. There is absolutely NOTHING that powerful. God will
not and cannot be defeated. Ever.
We should never cower in fear of what evil people and the
world can do or say. Trust in all that God can do and in His promises despite the
world and all its troubles. Take heart. Stand firm. God has everything under
control. Trust Him, alone. Abide in Him deeply and intimately as the ultimate victory
is ours. Nothing will prevail God’s plan!