Praise God for Covid 19?

"You will live in joy and peace. The mountains and hills will burst into song, and the trees of the field will clap their hands! Where once there were thorns, cypress trees will grow. Where nettles grew, myrtles will sprout up. These events will bring great honor to the Lord ’s name; they will be an everlasting sign of his power and love.” Isaiah 55:12-13 NLT

I woked up with this morning with the thought, "Praise God for Covid 19!" But how can we do so when Covid 19 has wreaked so much sorrow and suffering in our world? Will we not be seen to be judgmental, heartless, hypocritical and self righteous? Even worse, what if we say that Covid 19 is God's answer to our prayers for revival? How are we to share the good news of God's unconditional and universal love in such times?

As I read Exodus 32 and Isaiah 55 in my devotional readings for today, I was reminded of the "burning anger" of God as well as the truth that God's ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. We need to come to terms with the wrath of God even as we seek the agape Love of God. As we see lockdowns happening all over the world, it looks like God is resetting all our world systems. 

We are also reminded of how important each individual is and how much we depend on one another. It has been said that "nobody is safe until everybody is safe." For not even the rich, famous and powerful are immune to the Covid 19 virus. It is a time of an awakening of the spirit of compassion in all of us. It is a time to hold fast to the promise that God's everlasting Love endures forever - that love always trump evil and that perfect love casts out all fear.

Last year, I had recorded the following thoughts from my devotional readings for 26th March 2019:

"Faithful living is easy when everything is going smoothly and according to our wishes. But when we are tested and the reality is not to our liking or unsatisfactory, our circumstances may cause our faith to falter...... I know there will be challenges ahead. But I also know that God will help me as I hold fast to the promise that God's plan will be for my good."

"Thank God that you can't see the whole scope of his work which would cause your brain to freeze! Also thank Him that, in His perfect timing, He'll reveal the next steps of His plan for your life."

"As long as I am constantly concerned about what I "ought" to say, think, do, or feel, I am still the victim of my surroundings and am not liberated...But when I can accept my identity from God and allow Him to be the center of my life, I am liberated from compulsion and can move without restraints."

"Our powerlessness is the source of vitality in our relationship with God...I will set aside my "shoulds" and return to trust in my Higher Power."

"Go to God in humility and be hungry to learn from His Word. Ask Him daily to teach you what you should do in every situation. Don't be a know-it-all; ask God to teach you what you need to learn today."

And so one of the hidden blessings of all the social distancing measures in place is that we now have the time and opportunity to practice solitude, silence and meditation on God's Word. As I re-read my journal entry for last year, I realised that it is so difficult to put into practice all that I had read in my devotionals when I am caught up in work. Now I have the time to recover the lost art of Christian meditation in silent prayer - to dwell on and dwell in God's Word to hide it in my heart and to experience the truth that the fruit of silence is the true prayer that will bear the fruits of faith, love, service and peace.

Dr. Calvin Chong in the Lenten devotional for today shared the following lesson:

"The greatness of God lies not merely in Him accepting the worship from the faithful, but in Him extending mercy and grace to the faithless, forgetful and fallen!"

We can choose to live an awful life that is rooted in fear or to live a life filled with the awe of God's mercy and grace for the countless times when we have been faithless, forgetful and fallen. And it is in the storms of life that we can cry out to God, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24 NLT) It is the agape love of God revealed in the Cross of Christ that empowers us to live our lives in wonder and not in fear. 

We can choose to see the Covid 19 pandemic as God's wake up call to dangers of pride, lust and greed. Jesus taught us that "blessed are the poor for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven."  The first "be-attitude" of the Kingdom of Heaven is the spirit of poverty which is God's antidote to pride, lust and greed. Heaven is not a place we go to when we die - it is the state of being in a close, personal and intimate relationship with God in the here and now. We are to live out the good news that Jesus Christ died on the cross to bring us back into fellowship with God as our Abba, Heavenly Father. 

Covid 19 is to drive us to seek the first key to the Kingdom of Heaven - the spirit of poverty to recognise and accept our powerlessness over sin and evil. Only then will we turn back to God and to surrender our all to Him. As we do so, we will experience the truth of God's promise that we "will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous" And as our gifts are given to those who need them, they will thank God. So two good things will result from this ministry of giving—the needs of the poor will be met and they will joyfully express their thanks to God. (2 Corinthians 9:11-12 NLT)

Calvin Chong, in his devotional, invited us to find a hymn or contemporary worship song that captures the spirit of worshiping God for both His blinding glory as well as His boundless goodness and grace. I felt led to the song, "Yet Not I, but through Christ in me" which my six year old grand-daughter had shared with me a few weeks ago. I was uplifted  by the following verses:

"The night is dark but I am not forsaken
For by my side, the Saviour He will stay
I labour on in weakness and rejoicing
For in my need, His power is displayed

To this I hold, my Shepherd will defend me
Through the deepest valley He will lead
Oh the night has been won, and I shall overcome!
Yet not I, but through Christ in me

No fate I dread, I know I am forgiven
The future sure, the price it has been paid
For Jesus bled and suffered for my pardon
And He was raised to overthrow the grave

To this I hold, my sin has been defeated
Jesus now and ever is my plea
Oh the chains are released, I can sing: I am free!
Yet not I, but through Christ in me"

And so I can praise God for Covid 19 as the pandemic is drawing me closer to Him and has opened my eyes to the truth of His wonderful promise of His Presence, Power and Peace that when I live in the Shelter of the Most High I will find rest in the Shadow of the Almighty.