I’ve been asked, “Did God send the virus because He is angry with us?” I cannot answer that, but I do know that God works all things for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:26). What I would like is for all of us to consider that God can cause good to come from any situation.
I have heard it said a few times recently that God may be up to something new. Isn’t He always up to something new? You have to pay attention. “I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:19)
I don’t know about you, but the thought of God doing a new thing is exciting. When I became a new creature in Christ, that was exciting (2 Corinthians 5:17). The old me was gone, and the new me was excited to be on this new journey as a born-again Christian. That still happens to me. I love waking up in the morning; I want to see what new thing the Lord has planned for each day.
I do not mean to downplay the seriousness of what is going on in the world today. I do not by any means make light of the fact that people are becoming seriously ill and dying. Please don’t misunderstand me.
What I do want to encourage, however, is for you to look at your life and the world around you with new eyes. I want to strongly encourage you to use this time wisely in asking yourself where you stand in your spiritual beliefs — more pointedly, where you stand with Jesus. Is He Lord? How can you participate in the new thing that God is doing?
My children have found their way back to the piano. I am making more telephone calls to check in on people to hear their voices. My usual 80 hour per week work schedule has morphed into a different way of doing pastoral ministry. I absolutely love the work I do, but I often lament I have “no time to clean the garage, clean out the shed, etc.” Now I have time.
I am encouraging people to call others on the telephone and send cards and letters. I know I am using the mailbox on the end of my driveway more than I have in years. It’s actually kind of nice. Maybe some of the new things we can be doing are the old things we’ve forgotten about. I’m reminiscing more with the kids, and they are rediscovering old ways and new skills and projects.
How about church? I miss being at church every week! I am hoping this crisis will get people to commit to attending church when we get back to what I think is going to be a new normal. What will our lives look like? What good do you want to take away from this? If you are able, I hope you’ll decide to be a Christian that attends church instead of staring at Facebook or Instagram. I hope you’ll realize that a few hours on Sunday is something you want to commit to.
What kind of a society do you want to help build and maintain? Think about it.
“On Faith” is a weekly column in the News-Chronicle written by area religious leaders.
This content was originally published here.
