God is sovereign over all

God is constantly working in a million ways at all times. He is constantly at work in the world and in the hearts and lives of believers in so many ways that we will never know.

Obviously, it is impossible to know fully the mind of God, but it is clear that God is Sovereign over every single event in history, including the recent outbreak of the Coronavirus.  

Many liberal Christians have come out strong in their opposition against God having anything to do with the sending of the Coronavirus, rejecting a God who is involved with the affairs of the world.  But the fact of the matter is that God is the ultimate cause for everything that happens on earth, so, it is important for believers to think through what exactly God is doing through this pandemic. 

John, in 1 John 5:14, writes about an important truth we can hope in as believers. That is if we pray according to God’s will that He hears us. In other words, God doesn’t listen to prayers that aren’t according to His will, but when our will is aligned with the Lord’s, He does listen.  

God loves to bless believers when their greatest desire is God’s glory. And so, I pray that throughout this Coronavirus quarantine that God uses it to grow my affections for Him and His will. Here are some ways I think He is working through this pandemic and is going to bring glory to Himself. 

God is increasing our love for the gathering more 

My 3-year-old daughter just said that she really misses going to church and that she misses her Sunday school teachers.  As her primary Sunday school teacher right now, I’m trying not to take that personally, but it is quite obvious that there is nothing like being with other children at church. While I’m thankful for the opportunity to listen to worship services online and for zoom meetings, there is nothing like gathering together as believers; it is a mandate and rightfully so.  

At the beginning of this, there was concern that people would “get used to” online services, and that when the quarantine is lifted they might not return to church but choose to “worship online” from here on out. I didn’t think that before and I don’t believe it now. True believers know that there is nothing like being in the same room with other heaven-bound saints, singing, giving, partaking of the Lord’s supper together and sitting under the same teaching.  

He is growing our Love other Christians  

It has been such an encouragement to interact with other Christians. So many have been incredible examples of how to suffer well. While the world, despairs and fights with one another, I have seen so many examples of believers responding well to trials. Whether it is the death of loved ones, evangelism, loss of work and finances, or simply thinking about this in a biblical way, it is quite obvious that God is using this to grow our affection and care for one another. I think that the way Christians have loved one another and cared for one another throughout this time will be used by God in a mighty way to draw people to Himself. 

He is making us hate fighting with one another 

Fighting with other Christians just seems so foolish right now. Watching politicians and journalists over the past month has been fascinating. They cannot get along. There seemed to be a day or two last month where it seemed like people were able to stand each other, but that quickly went away. Christians are not immune to this, they fight. They fight often. But I think that the Coronavirus situation is causing us all to think about fighting in a different light. There are souls dying all around us, we are not in control of our next breath and suddenly fighting over music styles and carpet colours seems so foolish. 

He is multiplying our love for the lost 

I truly believe that God is using this pandemic to grow our love for the lost. Thousands upon thousands have died all over the world. So many of them died alone, and sadly most of them have probably never heard the Gospel before. They slipped into hell, alone and unwarned. I have gotten many phone calls and emails with people asking for advice or with ideas on how to reach the lost. It is obvious that believers are seeing this Coronavirus as an opportunity to share the Gospel. God is using the Coronavirus to bring the Gospel to many people who would otherwise never listen or maybe never have the opportunity to listen. Believers are starting to realize the urgency of bringing the Gospel to a needy world. I can’t wait to hear of testimonies that begin with, “I’ve never thought about God or my sin, but then the Coronavirus came and…” 

He is humbling us

God can take away everything you have at the drop of a hat. Whether you are prideful of your church’s size, or your bank account, or even your health, many people have realized that there is no guarantee that you can keep what you have. Even unbelievers are starting to realize that there is really nothing that they can control in this life. God is crushing our prideful mindsets of being in control and is quickly reminding us of our need of Him. As a side note, we have a short window of opportunity to speak into the lives of unbelievers around us who know this to be the case, soon when this season has passed they will return to their prideful ways and perhaps might even become prideful of surviving and “defeating” the Coronavirus. 

He is exposing our idolatry 

I’m convinced that God is using this to expose all the things we worship other than Him. We have lost things we love and cherish and are realizing just how much of the time we devote to things other than God. It’s fascinating to think about how many things the Coronavirus has affected. Bank accounts, sports, movies, food, health and a sea of other things that constantly scream for our attention and take our eyes off of the Creator. The Coronavirus is an opportunity for all of us to consider the idols of our heart and to learn how not to pervert the gifts that God gives us. 

He is causing us to long for heaven more 

Maybe I’m being too sentimental, and probably the loss of my grandfather didn’t help, but I can’t help but believe that God is causing us all to want to be with Him in Heaven. I hate my sin, have been exposed to it to a whole new level over the last couple months, and can’t wait to be in Heaven where sin is gone and Christ is present. I think that God uses these kinds of large-scale events to make us long for Him in a new way.  

He is causing us to hate sin more 

I think the quarantine is exposing our sin more. Our love for comfort, our idolatry, our selfishness. We are around our loved ones more, and while that’s a huge blessing, it has the potential to expose the darkness in our hearts to a whole new level. While the opportunity to ask forgiveness and to reconcile is sweet, it is just a reminder of how sinful we are and how desperate we are for the forgiveness of God. God is using this to remind us of our need to be sanctified and I think Christians have a renewed passion for holiness.  

He is driving us to our knees

We have always known the importance of prayer but now we are realizing it like never before. We have more time at home, we have more worries than ever before, and the one thing that we can do is pray. Pastors don’t know who’s watching their sermons, we can’t see people’s responses we can only preach the word and pray that God uses it for His glory. The Coronavirus is exposing our need to depend on the Lord at all times when things are going well and when things are difficult.

He is enlarging our love for our home 

While, sadly, abuse in homes is up around the world, I know that this situation is causing many families to grow closer. Many fathers are taking seriously their mandate of leaders of the home. Family worship has never been followed more closely, and many families are realizing just how valuable this time together can be. While working from home has its challenges, the Lord is using it to grow families closer and to give parents sweet times with their children. At the beginning of the pandemic, many parents joked about having to be home all day, but I’ve heard many say that they are going to miss their families once they have to return to working away from home.  

I’m so thankful to God for how He is wise and He is working throughout our difficulties. It is humbling to think about how needy we are and encouraging to know that we have a Father who doesn’t always give us what we want but always gives us what we need.

Those are ten things that I thought of as I’ve contemplated what God is doing through the Coronavirus.  Not sure why it’s nine, as I’m sure that God is doing much more than I have thought of in this post.

What are some things God has taught you or that you think He’s doing through this situation?