Very recently, my husband and I were able to enjoy a “Zoom” party online with some very good friends of 25 years. There were ten of us on the call, and at the end of our time together, we started to discuss how Covid19 has changed us in just the 2-3 weeks that we have been quarantined. For those of us people persons, myself included, we expressed how much we miss seeing our friends. But for the most part, there were positive thoughts about the quarantine in terms of how it has caused us to reprioritize what matters in our lives. With time on our hands, I imagine that most everyone has realized some truths that we normally don’t have time to stop and think about. This pandemic has been a wake-up call, to say the least.
In a recent podcast I listened to, Dr. David Jeremiah had something to say about what Covid19 is teaching us. I was able to share some of this with my friends, and now I want to share it with you. Here’s are six points that he made.
This pandemic tells us six things.
- Everyone is vulnerable. Including celebrities, sports stars, politicians…etc. A pandemic puts everyone on an even playing field. Money can buy you a test, but not a cure. This is humbling and should make us all realize how dependent we really are on God. We are not in control. To think so is delusional. 1 Peter 5:5 tells us that God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. I’m hoping that when this pandemic has subsided, that we will be a changed nation. A nation on its knees, and in repentance. The prophet Jeremiah in chapter 18 verse 8 tells us what the Lord said concerning a nation, “If that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent concerning the calamity I planned to bring on it.” We need to repent as a nation.
- The Bible is credible. It talks about pandemics to come in the end times that will be much worse than Covid19. Ezekiel 38:22 says that God will send a pandemic on the people who will try to destroy Israel and in 39:12 we learn that it will take seven months to bury the bodies of those whom God judged. The Times Of Israel reported on March 16th 2020, that it was expecting a plague of locusts to descend upon the middle east just in time for the Passover. You can read about it here. What does this tell us? When you read about these things in the Bible that will happen, and you see them happening now, then you know that they can happen.
- Life is uncertain. Not one of us was planning on wiping our schedules clean to the end of 2020. No one expected to shut down our businesses and stay home until we are told. But James knew better. In James 4:13-16, James reminds us that we don’t know what our life will be like tomorrow. We are just a vapor that appears for a little while, and then vanishes away. Psalm 39:5 tells us the same, that every man is a mere breath, he amasses riches and does not know who will gather them. Job 14:1-2 tells us that our life is short-lived, like a flower we come and wither, we flee like a shadow and do not remain. Are you starting to get the picture here? Life does not go the way we planned it, and it is short. We have all had disappointments in our lives because of our expectations for our lives, myself included. We need to remember that this universe is God’s and not ours. He is sovereign over it.
- There is a lack of hope in our culture. It seems that the majority of views in our culture are skewed toward the negative. I find myself wanting to succumb to this mindset myself, but I have to remind myself of the facts that I know about the situation, and about God’s promises. We shouldn’t ever make decisions for our lives with our emotions. Our feelings lie to us. Jeremiah 17:9 tells us that the heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick. Dr. Robert Shmerling of Harvard Medical School tells us that 99% of people recover from Covid19. New drugs are coming on the scene, and the FDA is fast tracking them. The world is not coming to an end yet. Covid19 is a wakeup call. But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord.
- Jesus is sufficient. We see this in Matthew 24—the Olivet discourse. Jesus is communicating with His disciples, and getting them ready for His crucifixion, and ascension into Heaven. He tells them not to be frightened. Then in John 16:33 he tells them, “In the world, you will have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” His promise to them was Himself. He didn’t say that He overcame tribulation. He said that he overcame the world. He didn’t just overcome the event, but the environment in which it happened. He has control of this. In 2 Cor. 12:9, Jesus teaches that His grace is sufficient for us, and His power is perfected in weakness. His sufficiency will be on display everywhere. He will show up and display His glory, and you will be telling everybody what He has done.
- 6. Salvation is urgent. Use this time to think deeply about God. Now is the time for salvation. I have heard many stories about death-bed or last-minute conversions. That is not the safest way to come to Christ. But God accepts people who are saved at the last minute. Remember, Jesus promised salvation to the thief who was dying on the cross next to Him. This is because our God is a merciful God who gives us better than we deserve. He is long-suffering toward us so that all can come to repentance. But He never forces us. The choice is always ours. If you reject him on earth, He will give you what you want for eternity.
All of these points should cause us to think about God in ways we wouldn’t be willing to before. Someday, God’s people will be taken up to Heaven and the door will close on those who have rejected the Gospel.
Have you put your trust in Jesus Christ? I learned from my friend, and Biola professor Jim Warner Wallace that there’s a difference between believing that, and believing in. We can believe in our minds that something is true, but until we put our trust in it, It’s not real belief. Before I became a Christian, I had all the head-knowledge about God that was sufficient for me to say I knew Him. But I didn’t, because I didn’t put my trust in Him until I had to. He brought me to a place where I had nowhere else to turn. Then I understood what trusting in meant. When I saw his sufficiency in my life, I saw Jesus in a way I had never seen Him before. I want that for you.
If you have never acknowledged that you are a sinner, and the way you are living your life is not working, ask Jesus to come into your life, and give you the gift of eternal life. Do it now. He is always listening and will hear you. Say in your heart, “God, I know I am a sinner, and the wages of sin is death. I don’t want to die in my sin. Would you forgive me of my sins and come into my heart? I know that you died on the cross and took God’s wrath for my sins. I trust you and believe in you, and I receive you as my savior today.”
I pray that you reflect on what God is teaching you through this time, and that you can be at peace as you put your trust in Jesus Christ.