"Is God In Quarantine?"
Asking ‘That’ Question
“If God really exists, why on earth would he stand by and allow Covid-19 to reap havoc in the world?”
“Is God self-isolating too?” — to paraphrase John Lennox.
Perhaps you may have heard someone say this. Maybe you’ve even thought it yourself. It’s really part of a much broader question which is why is there suffering in the world at all, and especially among those we would consider good, or innocent?
The bible doesn’t give us all the answers to this complex and difficult question, but it does give some key truths that form a framework for our thinking in this matter.
Framing A Response
Some suffering is an inescapable part of free will. We must be free to choose to be free to genuinely love. God wants us to choose him freely, without compulsion, and as result we must also be free to reject Him and follow our own desires, which often leads to pain in this life.
At other times suffering can be God’s way of getting our attention. As C. S. Lewis wrote “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”
In the current climate many people have had the twin illusions of control and certainty stripped away and are finding themselves grasping for something firm to hold onto. This is often the time we see more clearly how dependent we are on God and on His mercies every day.
Yet just as physical pain reveals that something is wrong with our body, our suffering is also a constant reminder that things are not as they should be in our world. Scripture tells us to expect trials in this life, but that God is in the process of restoring souls to himself now, and all of creation in the future. It should come as no surprise that we cannot grasp every aspect of the way an infinite, all powerful, all knowing, eternal God, chooses to work.
Founding Our Faith
One thing we can know for certain, however, is that our suffering can’t be because he doesn't love us. This same creator God, sent his Son to take the punishment that we deserved, by entering into our suffering and dying in our place so that we might receive his righteousness and be free to enjoy Him forever. At the same time, he promises to walk with us in our suffering through the gift of his indwelling Spirit, the great comforter.
You can trust a God like that with anything we may struggle to make sense of in a world with suffering. And you can trust a God like that, who will one day restore all things, and bring his justice to bear in a way that all will see. When that happens, I suspect our questions will cease, and we will have no response other than to worship.
Some Questions
In what ways do you see the love of God displayed despite the devastating effects of Covid19?
In every trial there is something more to learn about God and ourselves. What do you think God is teaching you at this time?
What things do you have a new perspective on, or appreciation for?
Some Resources
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/14/opinion/coronavirus-church-close.html
https://www.thegoodbook.com.au/where-is-god-in-a-coronavirus-world
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAH2CrisC0k
Or for a more in depth discussion on this topic have a listen to this message by D A Carson's message "A Firm Foundation: Six Pillars of Faith in the Midst of Suffering and Death"....
“God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”