God and the Pandemic

God and the Pandemic

The Opening Questions

When we think about God and the pandemic, we might ask enormous questions with no straightforward answers: Where is God in a pandemic? Is the pandemic God's judgment on the world? Is it God's way of bringing revival? For others, the questions are more personal: What is God saying to us through the pandemic? What has it taught us about God, about ourselves, about the way we live? And for some, looking forward: What's next? How do we live for God now in light of the pandemic?

As we explore this topic, it's like pulling a loose thread in a wool jumper—the more we examine it, the more questions keep unraveling. This morning, we'll tackle this by asking two key questions: What does Scripture have to say to us, and what does our lived experience have to say to us?

What Scripture Says: Jesus and Change

Let's begin with Luke 21, where Jesus speaks about the end times. He tells His disciples about the temple they're admiring:

"As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down." (Luke 21:6)

The disciples are captivated by the temple's magnificence—they see it with pride and adoration. But Jesus doesn't share their expectations. He doesn't see a permanent structure exempt from change. He says plainly: everything you now see, everything you know, everything you cannot imagine ever changing—all this will change.

I believe this is one of the first things the pandemic did. It blew our assumptions about tomorrow out of the water. It took all the things that were part of our normal daily life—the things we relied upon, the things we knew—and disrupted them, changed them, turned them on their head.

When I think about the pandemic in light of this verse, I have to ask: What was I captivated by before the pandemic? What was I in awe of? What did I believe could not change because it was dedicated to God?

James 4:14 tells us:

"Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money'... You do not even know what will happen tomorrow."

Two years ago, I could say with certainty what would happen tomorrow. My tomorrows were full of activities, people, tasks, and events—each one a stone built upon another, forming the structure of my life. Then the pandemic flooded in, and as Jesus said, not one stone was left upon another. Everything was disrupted.

Jesus's Instructions: Don't Be Deceived, Don't Be Frightened

When the disciples ask Jesus when these things will happen, He doesn't answer their question about timing. Instead, He gives them instructions:

"Don't be deceived. Don't be frightened."

How quickly and easily did deception and fear come at us during the pandemic? Deception came as the temptation to take our eyes off Jesus and believe something that isn't true.

Tom Wright reminds us in God and the Pandemic that Jesus is the central event of history—not the pandemic. Jesus is the call to repent, not the pandemic. Jesus is the kingdom come, not the pandemic. Wright poses challenging questions:

• Are we looking for sudden signs of the end? No—we pray daily, "Your kingdom come on earth as in heaven."
• Are we looking for fresh sudden calls to repent? No—we pray daily, "Father, forgive us our sins."
• Are we then looking for fresh reasons to leave our comfortable lifestyles and tell our neighbours the good news?

Jesus said to His disciples: When everything you know has been turned upside down, don't be deceived. I am the way, the truth, and the life. I am the light of the world. I am the sacrifice for sin. I am the hope for the future.

But Jesus also said: Don't be frightened.

It's natural to feel fear as we look out upon the vast unknown. But fear is never something Jesus wants us to make space for. We are to grieve, yes. We are to lament, weep, and feel pain with others. We are to groan along with creation and with the Holy Spirit. But fear? No. Fear is not of God.

Isaiah 41:10 says:

"Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

What Our Lived Experience Teaches Us

Our lived experiences of the pandemic were all different, but I want to share what I learned through leading a small group study during this time. We explored Bible stories to find parallels with what we were living through, and the overriding message that came through again and again was simple: Love one another.

It wasn't new—it isn't rocket science—but maybe somewhere along the journey of our lives, we had lost sight of the two greatest commands: Love God, love one another.

The disruption to our everyday lives held up a magnifying glass to our relationships:

• Our relationship with God: The pause, the removal of external activities, patterns, pressures, and expectations revealed what my relationship with God was really made of, what it was really based on, what mattered and what didn't.

• Our relationships with others: Especially with those in our household, the pandemic brought to the surface what these relationships were really like.

• Our relationship with ourselves: The pandemic brought a spotlight to my identity. I had to ask: Who am I without this and this and this?

• Our relationship with creation: The pandemic pushed me outdoors. I confess that a daily walk was not part of my pre-lockdown life, but it became the highlight of my day.

What's striking is that every single relationship the pandemic put under the microscope—my relationship with God, with others, with myself, and with creation—is what life is really about. These relationships matter. And these relationships, which have been broken and marred by sin, are also the relationships that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has healed and restored.

These relationships are the substance of our salvation. The restoration of these relationships through faith in Jesus is the good news we have to offer the world.

A Word of Hope

Let me leave you with Jesus's words this morning:

"Don't be deceived. Don't be frightened. I am the same yesterday, today, and forever, and I will be with you to the very end of the age."

A Word From the Preacher

At the heart of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ is the idea of partnership—that sense of seeking to be obedient to what He tells us to do, obedient to His written Word, and obedient to the prophetic word, to what God is speaking to us in this particular moment.

Christine has covered so much ground this morning, and we've been through so much in the last 18 months. There are so many different emotions, and God may be working very individually and personally with each one of us at this time.

So my question to you is: In your discipleship, in your following of Jesus, what is it that God is doing in you at the moment? What does He want to bring healing to? Where is He challenging that sense of pride—where you were trusting in things you thought would never be shaken but which have been? What is God challenging and speaking to you about?