CrossTalk: Fear, Love and Trust in God above all things

COVID-19 has been the occasion of a great deal of evil. Not only have we lost precious people to the illness, there have been other harms as well. Economies have been devastated. Businesses have been bankrupted. People have been set against one another. Families and friendships have been broken. Worship has been impeded, and sometimes forbidden.

But above all of these, the most heartbreaking effect of COVID-19 is the fear that it stirs up. In our age of scientism, we have been conditioned to think that every problem can be solved, and every danger averted by the proper application of science.

But five months into the pandemic, we still have no sure-fire cure for the disease. Some think hydroxychloroquine helps. But others don’t. Purell, disinfectant sprays, social distancing, quarantines, thermometers and masks in a dozen varieties are all said to help. But not one of these things can guarantee 100-percent protection.

Despite all these precautions, people still get sick and some die from this invisible and undetectable threat. Our inability to predict and control the disease gives rise to fear, frustration and anger.

But scientism is a false religion. It cannot control everything. It cannot solve every problem. There is only One who is capable of controlling the universe and curing diseases. The Lord God almighty is the maker of heaven and earth. The One who created the universe and everything in it also created the COVID-19 strain and He still controls it.

We still don’t know whether God created it by an evil scientist or by an accident of nature. But we do know that it is from God. We don’t know whether we might get it from our pet cat or from a stranger at the gas station. But we do know that nothing will happen apart from God’s willing it.

If a friend or a loved one contracts the virus, we don’t know whether it will act like the common cold, or lead to multiple organ failures and death. But God knows. More than that, He remains in control. God is not a mere observer with foreknowledge of events. He remains the creative cause of all things at all times.

When we remember this, we stop fearing the disease and turn to God. We turn to Him to ask Him to remove the disease from our land. We ask Him to protect us and our neighbors from the ravages of the disease. We ask that He will remove all fear from our hearts.

As we ask, we become mindful of our own sin and unworthiness. So, we repent and trust in God’s undeserved mercy. We remember that God so loved the world that He gave His only Son into death to take away the sin of the world.

If COVID-19 brings you to this humble repentance and trust in the mercy of God, it will be the cause not only of much evil, but of the greatest good possible.

Almighty and Most Merciful God, our heavenly Father, we, Thine erring children, humbly confess unto Thee that we have justly deserved the chastening which for our sins Thou hast sent upon us; but we entreat Thee, of Thy boundless goodness to grant us true repentance, graciously to forgive our sins, to remove from us, or to lighten, our merited punishment, and so to strengthen us by Thy grace that as obedient children we may be subject to Thy will and bear our afflictions in patience; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord. Amen.