I don’t want to assume, but I’m betting most of us are having a hard time right now. There is so much bad news constantly bombarding us. COVID-19 cases are on the rise, we still haven’t reached the peak number of cases in the U.S., the economy is on the fritz, people are losing their jobs left and right. My heart is racing just typing these words. Many of us are facing stress, anxiety, depression, and isolation. We have no idea how long this uncertainty will continue. How, oh how, do we find relief in this time?
Trevor and I have been doing a whole-Bible reading plan over the course of this year and, I’m reluctant to admit this, but the Old Testament started to get a little redundant around the end of Exodus. That’s only the second book of the Bible! However, by this point in the Bible, the Israelites have complained to God over and over again about their situation and how they would have better food if they were still enslaved in Egypt, even though God provided them manna daily. They complained about not having water, yet it was provided to them from a rock. They had everything they needed and God continued to come through for them time & time again, yet they continued to grumble and to remain distrusting of God. By the time I reached Numbers, I was thinking, ‘Okay, I get it. The Israelites grow apart from God and grumble and disobey His commands. God saves their existence, provides everything they need and makes it apparent to them. They trust in Him again. Rinse and repeat.’ This cycle is made so obvious throughout ALL of the Old Testament and it’s so easy to point out the flaws of the Israelite people.
Now, I can’t say I would be much different in this scenario wandering around the desert. Can you? I have much more than the Israelites had (emphasis on the wandering in the desert part!) and yet I still complain about things I am discontent with. We beg God for this and that, we bargain with Him to provide for us. Sometimes, I think we are about as blind as the Israelites were despite the fact that God has given us this amazing resource: the Bible. He has given us these Old Testament stories for a reason and what seems so obvious in reading the Old Testament is completely glossed over in our own lives. When will we learn that the one constant that was true in the Old Testament, that remains true today, is that God will provide.
In my daily journaling, I have been praying that God would have mercy on His people and bring us a vaccine or even a cure to this virus, but time and time again He has pointed me back to this one constant: His character never changes. God provided then and He will provide for us now if we can only be content in Him. Now, I am by no means making the argument that this pandemic was brought on by our disobedience to God, but I am simply pointing out that because God’s character remains unchanging throughout the ages, we still have a chance at peace and joy despite our uncertainty at this time. He is steadfast and I hope you can find some encouragement in His promises.
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God is Good All of the Time
Have you heard of the “tapestry” metaphor? It compares our lives to the threads on the back of a tapestry. We see many knots and tangles, threads going this way and that, and to us, it may not look like anything or make sense. The point is that God is on the other side of our tapestry. He sees the whole picture. He sees the beauty that will eventually come from each of those individual threads. Now, at this time in our lives, we may be in a thread that is weaving what seems like a bad course, but God creates beauty. He is All-Powerful and knows everything. He sees the big picture and knows the importance of this one thread to the meaning of the bigger picture. Although it is difficult for us to see in the moment, He is working the threads together for the good and beauty of the whole tapestry. We may not know why He is allowing this pandemic, but we can trust in His goodness and that He is working all things together for the good of those who love him. (Romans 8:28)
God Has A Plan
Because of God’s good character, we know we can trust in Him and lean not on our own understanding. Going back to the tapestry, God knows what he wants the final outcome to be. He can see the whole image and knows what looks good and what needs more care. As Christians, we have been called to serve God no matter what path he is leading us on. We must learn to trust in His plans and to be content in wherever He calls us. He is always faithful to us and will never lead His sheep astray (2 Timothy 2:13). (Psalm 16:11, Proverbs 3:5, Isaiah 26:4, Jeremiah 29:11, Philippians 4:12-13)
God Loves us
God sent His one and only son to this earth to be a living sacrifice so that we might live. His love is so vast and so unconditional. When we learn to truly trust in God’s love, we realize that He is steadfast, He is the rock that is never changing- the one constant in our ever changing world. Nothing can ever separate us from His love and in that we can find rest for our souls. We can rely on His love to take care of our plans because He works for the good of those who love Him. (Romans 8:28, Romans 8:39, 1 John 4:16, 1 John 4:19)
My friends, I hope this message helps you to realize our need and dependance on God. Through Him, all things are possible, even overcoming a pandemic. Now, more than ever, the people of this world need the hope of our God shared. Since we have the light living within us, let us spread it to the darkest corners of the earth so that more people can know and rely on God’s love in this time of uncertainty.
