coronavirus – Lamp and Light

By Jason Smith

Sometimes people assume that the stories found in the Bible are always otherworldly, with every page being filled with outlandish miracles, ethereal heavenly visions, and glorious angelic appearances. They imagine that the Bible might cater well to “dreamers” who enjoy predictable stories but not so well to those who live in the grit and grime of reality. But what really struck me when I began to actually read through the Bible is how incredibly real to life all the narratives truly are.

I learned that it was very much a book written for humans and by humans, even though – I’m convinced – it is ultimately given from God.[1] Some open their Bibles and expect to read about God’s people always succeeding and conquering “the bad guys” in dramatic fashion – all for the glory of God, of course! To be sure, there are “success stories” in the Bible. With God’s help, Joshua soundly defeated Jericho, and David took down Goliath with a single smooth stone.

But on the whole, you don’t find God’s people riding one big wave of victory after the other. Very often, the so-called “good guys” are deeply flawed and have mixed motives. They often struggle with doubt. Sometimes they even get angry at God. And perhaps the thing that makes people in the Bible seem most real is that they suffer.

Take Jeremiah, for example. His nickname is “the weeping prophet.” It’s a pretty unfair moniker, really, considering all that the guy was up against. Pretty much every time God gave Jeremiah a speaking assignment, the prophet obeyed but then was mocked and rejected by his audience. You could sum up Jeremiah’s message to Israel like this: “1) You guys sinned, 2) God will judge you, and 3) But there is still the hope of restoration, if you repent!”

For some reason, the people didn’t really like that message – particularly points 1 and 2. Nearly the whole nation made it clear that they would rather Jeremiah just bug off. They preferred listening to all the false prophets, whose constant message was essentially: “Everything is awesome!” (see Jeremiah 23:16-22). They promised success and victory, but avoided the messy subjects of sin and accountability to God. Due to the city’s unspeakable evil, God determined that the Babylonian army would utterly crush Jerusalem.

Rather than a small band of rebels rising up at the very last moment to defeat the mighty evil empire – as we might expect in a Hollywood script – God’s people don’t win this battle. Jerusalem is decimated by the Babylonians. The book of Jeremiah ends with total defeat, rather than: “And they lived happily ever after.”

In addition to writing the biblical book that bears his name, many scholars believe that Jeremiah may have written the book of Lamentations (see 2 Chronicles 35:25). Given his historical position as an eyewitness of all that took place when Jerusalem fell, this makes sense, but we really don’t know.

In Lamentations, we get a sense for what the Apostle Paul meant when he wrote, “Behold then the kindness and severity of God” (Romans 11:22). God is always good and kind, but He also refuses to leave evil and rebellion unchecked forever.

As he watches the city of Jerusalem fall through tear-filled eyes, the author of Lamentations cries out:

“The Lord determined to tear down
    the wall around Daughter Zion.
He stretched out a measuring line
    and did not withhold his hand from destroying.
He made ramparts and walls lament;
    together they wasted away.” (Lamentations 2:8, NIV)

Imagine for a moment that the beloved city in which you live was being burned to the ground. How would that make you feel? It gets worse for this grieving man. In raw emotion, he accuses God of ignoring him:

“He has walled me in so I cannot escape;
he has weighed me down with chains.
Even when I call out or cry for help,
he shuts out my prayer.” (Lamentations 3:7-8, NIV)

This is in the Bible! The author continues pouring out his heart with bitter invectives against God – even likening God to a ferocious bear that mauled him and left him for dead (vv. 10-11)!

Maybe you can relate. Perhaps there have been times when you too felt like God was shutting out your prayers. Maybe this even led to a root of bitterness growing within. It’s possible you even accused God of failing to do His job… failing to be the God you need. That’s where this man’s heart was as he wrote this.

But then, something changes… drastically. It’s as though a ray of hope suddenly breaks through the thick clouds overhead and shines upon his wounded soul.

“Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
    his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
    “therefore I will hope in him.” (Lamentations 3:21-24)

The author has wrestled intensely with how God’s goodness and sovereignty fit with the way his world is crumbling to a heap, and now he has broken through that struggle to the truth of God’s loving character on the other side. He has gone through what many have called “the dark night of the soul” and emerged with a clearer perspective on how desperately he needs God. He remembers that “his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning” (vv. 22-23).

What strikes me about Lamentations is how relatable it is. There’s nothing superficial or hunky dory about it. The author is deeply distressed throughout the entire book. But I also note how the author would have never been able to see the depths of God’s great mercy were it not for his agonizing experience.

Throughout this coronavirus crisis, many have wished they could find a time warp that takes them to the end of this pandemic. Such wishful thinking reminds me of Adam Sandler’s character on the movie Click. (Yes, I really am referencing an Adam Sandler movie in this devotional). In that film, Sandler’s character, Michael, discovers a universal remote control that allows him to pause time or fast-forward through difficult circumstances. In the end, Michael ends up fast-forwarding through his entire life. The lesson to be learned is that you cannot skip or avoid challenges in life, because life is filled with them – even as it is also filled with so much beauty and goodness.

In the same way, God does not intend for us to fast-forward through the challenging times of life. Instead, we are to be fully engaged with every moment He gives us. He calls us to walk through the valleys, not merely to fly from one mountaintop to the next. If it weren’t for the valleys, we would never grow. We’d become self-satisfied and spiritually anemic. Though unpleasant in the moment, trials in life are for our ultimate good.

Having gone through the valley of suffering, the author of Lamentations can now see God’s glory with greater clarity. Although pain and grief are here for a season, God’s love never ceases. “His mercies never come to an end” (v. 22). Every morning brings a fresh supply, and this reservoir of mercy will never run dry. “Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning” (Psalm 30:5). This is a powerful reminder to any who have suffered greatly and felt like God was ignoring them in their pain. When you seem all alone, God is still with you each step of the way. Even in the pain, God will bring new mercies. When all seems silent, God hasn’t forgotten about you. Know that everything your Father allows into your life is designed to ultimately draw you closer to Him.

[1] See my article “What Did Jesus Think of the Bible,” https://lampandlightdevotionals.wordpress.com/2020/04/24/what-did-jesus-think-of-the-bible/

Photo Credit: Pinterest

By Jason Smith

For many of us, the Coronavirus has become a source for fear and anxiety. In addition to the countless large events and meetings that have been canceled across the world and in the U.S., many churches have felt the need to cancel services and small group meetings, including my own.

Even for those who aren’t experiencing all-out panic at the current crisis, there is a growing undercurrent of uncertainty and bewilderment about how to proceed with life. Since I work at a hospital, I’ve seen firsthand the level of frustration and panic that has arisen in response to the spread of this disease. I’ve also spoken to many Christians who have said, to one degree or another, they don’t understand why God would allow such a terrible disease like the Coronavirus to spread.

The first thing I would want to say to my fellow Christians is that God really is in control of every circumstance we face in life. Even if all the public health and safety officials, human leaders and government officials seem incapable of stopping the spread of the Coronavirus, God is just as sovereign over His world today as He always has been. The Coronavirus does not pose a threat to God and His reign.

“Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is Yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all” (1 Chronicles 29:11-12a).

There is a part of us that actually despises the truth of God’s sovereign reign over all. We love the thought of having control over our own lives and to admit God’s sovereignty is to cede ultimate control to someone else. People may say things like, “God didn’t have anything to do with this disease” or “God is trying His best to stop it,” as if to defend God in the matter. These statements may come from good intentions, but to deny God’s absolute sovereignty is to deny the plain teaching of Scripture.

Consider just a handful of passages that plainly affirm God’s limitless reign over all:

“The Lord kills and brings to life;
He brings down to Sheol and raises up.
The Lord makes poor and makes rich;
He brings low and He exalts.” (1 Samuel 2:6-7)

“Our God is in the heavens, and He does as He wishes.” (Psalm 115:3, NLT)

“The LORD has established His throne in the heavens, And His sovereignty rules over all.” (Psalm 103:19, NASB)

“But you, Belshazzar… have not humbled yourself… Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven… But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways.” (Daniel 5:22-23, my emphasis)

It’s also important to affirm from Scripture (rather than just assume) God’s goodness and love. The psalmist tells God, “You are good, and You do what is good” (Psalm 119:68, HCSB). Similarly, we read, “For Yahweh is good, and His love is eternal; His faithfulness endures through all generations” (Psalm 100:5, HCSB).

So, we come back to the question: Why has God allowed the Coronavirus to spread? While I don’t pretend to have all the answers, Scripture does offer us a place to begin when considering this important question.

In the story of Scripture, we find that the human race first fell into ruin because we flouted God’s right to rule over us as His creatures. The original temptation was “to be like god” and reject His lordship over our lives (Genesis 3:5). When we cut ourselves off from the One who is the Source of life, the inevitable result is death. “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). In fact, suffering of all kinds — including viral diseases — is the result of the fall.

Because “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,” we also know that God must have a good purpose in allowing the Coronavirus to spread (Romans 8:28, NASB). While we tend to see things only in terms of their short-term consequences, God is able to take the long view and see the good that can come out of pain and loss. That’s why it’s so important to affirm God’s sovereign rule in the midst of crises, because that is the only thing that can give meaning and purpose to what we’re going through. Knowing that our loving God is working all things for our good offers us tremendous hope in the midst of so much uncertainty.

When some Jews told Jesus about certain Galileans that the Roman governor Pilate slaughtered, they wondered if this indicated they died because they were a bad lot that especially deserved it. Jesus replied, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them — do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish” (Luke 13:2-5, NIV).

Jesus is saying that when you see terrible suffering around you, don’t merely assume that suffering only happens to the worst of us. See it as another reason to be aware of your own need to get right with God. We tend to push away all thought of death and eternity in the everyday grind of life. So when a fast-spreading viral disease affects our loved ones and us, we feel especially vulnerable and aware of our own mortality. But the reality of suffering and death has always been there, even when we don’t allow it space in our consciousness.

C. S. Lewis said, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”[1] That is precisely Jesus’ point. God allows pain and suffering and diseases to get our attention, to alert us of our desperate need for Him. Suffering is a call to repentance. We should recognize times of health and peace as undeserved gifts of God’s common grace.

D. A. Carson writes, “It is a mark of our lostness that we invert these two. We think we deserve the times of blessing and prosperity, and that the times of war and disaster are not only unfair but come perilously close to calling into question God’s goodness or his power — even, perhaps, his very existence. Jesus simply did not see it that way.”[2]

What a comfort it is to know that God did not abandon us to this disease-ridden world. He actually entered into this mess and experienced the worst kind of suffering when He went to the cross on Golgotha Hill. On that hill, the real hammer of sin’s judgment came down on Him, so that we — through faith — might be spared. Through His death and resurrection, Christ provides a way for us to live forever one day in a place that is free of all suffering and disease. On that day, God “will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:4, NIV).

In the end, we should see the Coronavirus as a summons to seek refuge in the God who made us and in the Savior who suffered in our place.

[1] C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain (New York: Macmillan, 1962), 93.

[2] D.A. Carson, How Long, O Lord?: Reflections on Suffering and Evil (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1990), 67.

Lamp and Light

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