Undoubtedly, the last few weeks have been the most unusual period of your life. Who would have ever thought that grocery shopping or getting gas would be so unnerving?
For most of us, this war against an invisible virus is far more unsettling than 911. The war on terrorism was fought over there. This war affects us here, hitting us on so many levels in our everyday lives.
You likely have so many questions. When will this end? Will my family and I be safe? When will I have to stop homeschooling my kids? Will I lose my job or house? Will I have enough toilet paper?
All of us have likely felt a little unsettled, anxious, and even afraid.
Probing deeper, many have wondered are we living in the end times? Will Jesus return soon? Where is the Lord in this crisis?
One question that many are asking is who is behind this pandemic?
Is this a purely natural phenomenon? Was it developed in a lab? Is it a satanic attack? A divine judgment?
Michael Brown asked this question on Twitter and over 1,500 people responded. Here are the results:
- Developed in lab – 42%
- Natural phenomenon – 33%
- Divine judgment – 16%
- Satanic attack – 9%
This poll offers great insight into how the church views the coronavirus pandemic. The overwhelming majority believe it was either developed in a lab and leaked out or it was a natural phenomenon from the virus-infected Chinese wet markets.
Either way, most don’t believe that the Lord caused this catastrophe and I don’t either.
A Helpful Way to View this Crisis
If you are unsure how to view this pandemic, let me share a perspective that has really helped me. I view it like 4-D chess.
At the lowest level—level one—sits the majority of the world who just want to live their best life now. They want a blessed family, a successful career, and a nice house. They want to eat well, travel, watch sports, and be entertained.
Most of us are on level one. For us, this pandemic has completely disrupted our lives in a major way. We feel apprehensive, anxious, and even fearful.
On level two are evil people and self-seeking governments yearning for more money, control, and power. They want to use this chaos to gain greater control. They know that citizens will voluntarily relinquish some of their sovereignty—and even their privacy—to more paternalistic states in exchange for greater safety and stability.
On level three, Satan and the kingdom of darkness want to gain complete control over the world and stop God’s ultimate purposes from being accomplished. The powers of darkness are seeking to use this opportunity to establish complete dominion over the nations. There is undoubtedly an unseen antichrist agenda at play to usher in complete demonic control over government, finances, religion, education, and entertainment.
At the top, on level four, the Lord is sovereignly maneuvering the chess pieces with transcendent wisdom to accomplish His ultimate intention. The Lord is using this situation to wake up the church and say to His people that we are not ready for the much more difficult times ahead.
In His sovereignty, the Lord has masterfully maneuvered the chess pieces to put an end, for a season, to all of the world’s idols: sports, entertainment, recreation, travel, vacations, eating out, financial prosperity, and even our cherished forms of doing church.
Though I don’t believe the Lord caused this pandemic, He is undoubtedly using it to accomplish His eternal purpose. Like Paul said, “We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28).
Though most (including me) are anxiously counting the seconds until this pandemic ends, what if we paused for a moment and made the most out of this trial?
What if we returned to the Lord wholly, surrendering our entire lives to Him?
What if we pursed Him in a radical way, pressing in to know Him deeply, devoting ourselves to obey Him completely?
Our life is so fragile, so shakable, so transient. This pandemic has made that clear. But eternity is forever.
Let this momentary light affliction awaken the reality of eternity in your heart like never before, branding you forever as the Lord’s inheritance and possession.
