The Secret War

“Praise God’s name forever and ever! Power and wisdom belong to him.  He changes the times and seasons. He gives power to kings, and he takes their power away. He gives wisdom to people, so they become wise. He lets people learn things and become wise.  He knows hidden secrets that are hard to understand. Light lives with him, so he knows what is in the dark and secret places." Daniel 2:20-22

The whole world is at war with the Covid 19 virus. We are bombarded with grim images of  pain, sorrow and grief every day. We are reminded of how precious health is and how fragile wealth is. Health and wealth have been the idols of our modern society. There is a secret battle for our hearts since the beginning of time. We have the mind of Adam which seeks to be god instead of the mind of Christ which seeks to bear the image of God's love and to glorify God. 

Our mission is to bring heaven to earth and we are in the midst of a secret war "against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12, NLT) But the battle belongs to the Lord and the challenge is to practice the obedience of faith - to seek the Lord and to wait on Him. 

We are all infected by the sin virus which is more infectious and deadly than the Covid 19 virus. As the world desperately tries to flatten the curve of the Covid 19 infection, God is flattening the curve of inequality and injustice in the world.  Covid 19 became a pandemic as many were not vigilant in practising hygienic measures and social distancing seriously. Likewise, the sin virus is threatening the spiritual, moral and ethical health of all of us. 

The social distancing forced upon us is a wake up call - to teach us again the ancient wisdom of solitude, silence and contemplation. It is a time to learn to be still so that God can search our hearts:

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life." Psalms 139:23-24 NLT

Indeed, God is changing the times and seasons of the world and has promised wisdom and comfort to help us understand the blessing of sorrow. With our worldly spirit, we see sorrow as a punishment from an angry God for our sins.  But Jesus Christ came to open our eyes to see sorrow as a blessing when we are reborn again as the children of God. Jesus came to teach us the secret of suffering when He died on the cross and rose from the grave. And through His resurrection He has given us the Holy Spirit to fulfill the truth of the second beatitude:

"Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted." Matthew 5:4 NKJV

God knows our sorrows and griefs as well as the dark and secret places of our hearts.  When we put our trust in God as our Abba Father, we experience His unfailing Love embracing us and comforting us:

"All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ." 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 NLT

The good news is that God has given as the Holy Spirit as the love vaccine to immunise us against the sin virus. With the Holy Spirit, we have love, joy and peace to overcome our lust, guilt and fears. We can cultivate the fruits of patience, kindness and goodness to counter the sins of anger, greed and envy. And we can put on faithfulness, humility and self control to cure the sins of sloth, pride and gluttony.

The Covid 19 pandemic is a hidden blessing to remind us that Lent is a time for prayer and reflection on God's Word. It is a time to be in the wilderness of our lives and to face the truth that we are in the midst of a spiritual war and a deadly spiritual infection. There are difficult times and storms ahead of us but we can praise God that His Love always trumps evil and that everything will work for good for all who truly love God.