Always Been There, Always Come Through
"May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us nor forsake us." (1 Kings 8:57 NIV)
Apparently, this is not the first time in fairly recent history an epidemic such as this has plagued the world. Much has been made on the news of the Spanish Flu of 1918, which caused much of the same sort of panic, and caused the same sort of effects, as the current pandemic. Just a few years ago, the Zika virus caused trouble worldwide. And just a couple years before then, Ebola and MERS caused a lot of alarm. And then, before then, in the last part of the last decade, the H1N1, so called "Swine Flu" disease caused a lot of trouble. There have been outbreaks of various diseases in other parts of the world, many of which have, unfortunately, not received as much attention in the global media. However, in the memory of this current age, there has been nothing on as frightening a scale as this current coronavirus, precisely because of its unpredictable nature without a current cure or antidote; the fact it has disrupted our lives as well as largely shut down society and the economy; and the fact that, although many states have begun the process of "re-opening" there is still no end to the coronavirus in sight, continuing to disrupt what has up until now been our normal routines.
However, what all this history has also demonstrated is that, although diseases have sprung up all over the world, and will doubtless continue to do so, God has come through time and time again. He has brought the world through every epidemic that has happened, and He will continue to do so. The earliest documented outbreak can be traced to 1200 BC, in Central and Southern Asia - yet the world continues to exist today. Wars, economic disasters, diplomatic crises, and other catastrophic events have taken place regularly - but the world continues to keep going, and so do we. We often take for granted the fact that God created the world, and still remains involved in it. God loves the world He created, and, even though it is made imperfect by human sinfulness, He continues to work in it to bring things around according to His ideal. He works actively in the midst of disasters to bring the world, and us, to their conclusion, to show us how powerful and caring He truly is. He will continue to do so time and time again, as disasters continue to arise.
The greatest intervention in disaster God performed was long ago, to alleviate the worst epidemic of all - sin and death. He sent His Son to die on a cross to defeat sin's power, and death's ultimate victory, winning the ultimate victory; instead of death being the end, eternal life is. Instead of sin reigning supreme, God now reigns supreme. He showed Himself to be powerful even over sin and death, and therefore we can have confidence that He is powerful even over the coronavirus. He has been powerful over other outbreaks in the past, and He will demonstrate His power over this one. He has been with us, is with us now, and always will be. He has always been on our side, is right now, and always will be. He will restore what has been lost in this pandemic, and, will actually make things better than they were before. He gives us hope in the midst of any hopeless words and attitudes, because He has demonstrated His power and faithfulness time and time again. He is with us now, and loves us, just as He always has to every generation in every age.
Dear God, thank you that, in every event, even every catastrophe, of history, and of my life, you have always been there, and always will be. Thank you for bringing me to this point, and thank you that you will continue to bring me safely through everything that happens. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
"May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us nor forsake us." (1 Kings 8:57 NIV)
Apparently, this is not the first time in fairly recent history an epidemic such as this has plagued the world. Much has been made on the news of the Spanish Flu of 1918, which caused much of the same sort of panic, and caused the same sort of effects, as the current pandemic. Just a few years ago, the Zika virus caused trouble worldwide. And just a couple years before then, Ebola and MERS caused a lot of alarm. And then, before then, in the last part of the last decade, the H1N1, so called "Swine Flu" disease caused a lot of trouble. There have been outbreaks of various diseases in other parts of the world, many of which have, unfortunately, not received as much attention in the global media. However, in the memory of this current age, there has been nothing on as frightening a scale as this current coronavirus, precisely because of its unpredictable nature without a current cure or antidote; the fact it has disrupted our lives as well as largely shut down society and the economy; and the fact that, although many states have begun the process of "re-opening" there is still no end to the coronavirus in sight, continuing to disrupt what has up until now been our normal routines.
However, what all this history has also demonstrated is that, although diseases have sprung up all over the world, and will doubtless continue to do so, God has come through time and time again. He has brought the world through every epidemic that has happened, and He will continue to do so. The earliest documented outbreak can be traced to 1200 BC, in Central and Southern Asia - yet the world continues to exist today. Wars, economic disasters, diplomatic crises, and other catastrophic events have taken place regularly - but the world continues to keep going, and so do we. We often take for granted the fact that God created the world, and still remains involved in it. God loves the world He created, and, even though it is made imperfect by human sinfulness, He continues to work in it to bring things around according to His ideal. He works actively in the midst of disasters to bring the world, and us, to their conclusion, to show us how powerful and caring He truly is. He will continue to do so time and time again, as disasters continue to arise.
The greatest intervention in disaster God performed was long ago, to alleviate the worst epidemic of all - sin and death. He sent His Son to die on a cross to defeat sin's power, and death's ultimate victory, winning the ultimate victory; instead of death being the end, eternal life is. Instead of sin reigning supreme, God now reigns supreme. He showed Himself to be powerful even over sin and death, and therefore we can have confidence that He is powerful even over the coronavirus. He has been powerful over other outbreaks in the past, and He will demonstrate His power over this one. He has been with us, is with us now, and always will be. He has always been on our side, is right now, and always will be. He will restore what has been lost in this pandemic, and, will actually make things better than they were before. He gives us hope in the midst of any hopeless words and attitudes, because He has demonstrated His power and faithfulness time and time again. He is with us now, and loves us, just as He always has to every generation in every age.
Dear God, thank you that, in every event, even every catastrophe, of history, and of my life, you have always been there, and always will be. Thank you for bringing me to this point, and thank you that you will continue to bring me safely through everything that happens. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
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