We’re all in a situation of calamity, covid-19 just reinforces a truth about our existence?Life was never normal, it was always full of crises, we were insensitive to this reality. That’s what C S. Lewis says when in 1939, during an evening service at St. John’s Church. John’s, Mary’s, Oxford, preached a sermon entitled?Learning in wartime ?:
“War [replacing COVID-19] does not create an absolutely new situation; it just aggravates the permanent human situation so that we can no longer ignore it. Human life has always lived on the edge of the precipice. Human culture must always have existed under the shadow of something infinitely more important than himself. [?] Life has never been normal. Even the periods we thought were the most peaceful, like the 19th century, were, under a more precise view, full of crises, alarming situations, difficulties and emergencies. ? [1]
- “Life has never been normal.
- And we forget that.
- We take risks all the time.
- Calvin.
- Speaking of the threats of this life.
- Correctly reminds us of how dangerous life is:.
“We ride horses, our lives are at risk from the forgery of one foot. We enter the streets of the city, so many shingles, so many dangers to which we will be subjected. Whether a sharp instrument is in our hand or in the hand of a friend, the dangers are great. As many ferocious animals as we see, they will be armed for our destruction. [?] The house often subjected to fire threatens us on the day of poverty and the night of oppression. field, as it is exposed to hail, frost, droughts and other storms, denounces infertility and hence fire. which follows us?
So COVID-19 puts us in front of a mirror that we don’t like to look at, we see weaknesses, vulnerabilities, fears and fears in us. When the headwinds collapse our false support islands, we find ourselves submerged in rough seas that are infinitely larger than us.
Let’s be honest and face our limits right now, some will shipwreck in hospital beds, others in case of unemployment and financial crises, the elderly are the most vulnerable in nursing homes, our children will stop seeing friends, studying and playing away from home. The churches will be empty and closed. Governments will have to act quickly and change the current management plan, everything will change from now on and for some time, life will no longer be normal, or rather it will prove that it has always been so.
In the midst of this terrifying scenario, the sincere question we must ask ourselves is: how can we be safe?Is the answer the same as Abraham gave when he was also going through a crisis?Will God provide? (Gen 22:8 God wanted to test Abraham by asking him to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac, the son in whom the promise of divine blessing was. In the midst of this possible calamity, Abraham recalled that God fully controlled the future events of his life and was able to solve very complex things; In other words, Abraham believed in the doctrine of divine providence; and yes, good doctrine in times of crisis keeps people righteous and in faith. your son’s place. We know that this is not always the case, God will not always free people from the “Holocaust”, but at least we can move forward with the same faith as Abraham, the faith that rests on God and his way. to act in this world.
But how does the doctrine of providence help us now?To answer this question, we must remember some important biblical truths.
First, God makes all things, good and bad, happen according to His plan. That’s right, good and bad. God causes them all, not only authorizes or uses them. There are those who claim that God rules only over all things, but does not cause these bad situations. But “what governs if you do not preside for the governation of what we preside over. “By a specific order?” of all events.
I never forget the article I once read by Pastor John Piper shortly after the Twin Towers fell under a terrorist attack on September 11, 2001. Piper correctly reminds us that “God does everything according to his will” (Ephesians 1. 11):
All things (Ep 1:11) include the fall of sparrows (Mt 10:29); the release of the dice (Pv 16. 33); the massacre of his people (Salt 44:11); Decisions of kings (Prov. 21. 1); blindness (Ex. 4:11); childhood disease (2Sm 12. 15); loss and gain of money (1Sm 2. 7); the suffering of the saints (1Pe 4. 19); Completion of travel plans (Tg 4. 15); persecution of Christians (He. 12: 4-7); repentance of souls (2 Tim 2:25); The gift of faith (Philippians 1:29); progress in holiness (Philippians 3: 12-13); the growth of believers (Heb 6:3); life and death (1Sm 2. 6) and the crucifixion of his Son (Acts 4:27-28). ?[4]
We could continue with the above list and use other biblical examples. Remember Job’s life, the calamity experienced by Job and his family was unprecedented. In the first chapter, we read that their oxen and donkeys were stolen by the sages. His servants were killed. The fire fell from the sky and killed his sheep and his shepherds; as if that were not enough, the Chaldeen attacked and took the camels, cruelly killing the other employees; worse, his own sons and daughters were killed by a wind that blew against him. The house where they ate, what was Job’s perception of this calamity?
“Then Job got up, tore his robe, shaved his head, threw himself to the ground, and adored. And he said, what? Naked I came out of my mother’s womb and naked I’ll be back. The Lord gave it and the Lord took it; the name of the Lord (Job 1:20-21)
You see, Job could have blamed the Sabéan, and he was right. I could have blamed the Chaldea and he was right. You could have blamed your children for not seeking proper protection in an area where these types of tornadoes happened frequently. He may have found countless causes for his suffering, but he said, “The Lord gave it and the Lord took it. “In other words, the Lord has caused all this shame.
We know that Job’s discourse and perception were correct because God Himself immediately said, “In all this, did Job not sin, nor did he assign any fault to God?(Job 1:22). In other words, Job did not sin by saying that God was the cause of his crisis.
Later in Job’s account when his suffering was already unbearable, his wounds were open to the point of having to scratch with a piece of mud and his wife tried to curse God, he replied:
You sound like a lunatic. We have received the good of God; Why not receive evil ourselves?In all this, Job did not sin with his lips (Job 2:10).
Did Job know that God sends good and evil, and once again the narrator says that thinking like this is not a sin?”Didn’t Job sin with his lips? It is not a sin to pretend that God causes good and evil in our lives, otherwise.
Have you ever noticed what God has caused in this prophet’s life?One of the keywords in the book is ??? (mnh), this verb means selecting something or someone for a specific purpose. In the book we read that God sent (mnh) a great fish to swallow the prophet (1:17); gives birth to a plant (mnh) and flies over it (4. 6); sent (mhn) a warm east wind to attack him (4. 8); and the greatest miracle in my opinion throughout the book is: God sent (mhn) a worm to eat the plant he had given as protection to the prophet (4. 7). People question Jonah’s book because he says a big fish swallowed a man. But have you ever seen a domestic worm?A worm tamed by God to fulfill a specific purpose, destroying the plant that Jonah loved so much. Yes, God also controls the worms and sends them over our lives.
In fact, when we read the book of Jonah, we must realize that the same God who was active in the prophet’s life, bringing storms, fish, wind, and worms, is the same God who is active in our lives. does not change and remains sovereign and active throughout creation.
Finally, remember the words of the Apostle Paul: “Do we know that everything contributes to the good of those who love God, of those who are called according to his plan?(Romans 8:28). What are all things? At the end of the chapter, Paul speaks of “tribulation, anguish, persecution, hunger, nudity. “He says we’re like “sheep brought to the slaughterhouse all the time?”(Life has never been normal for Paulo). Then he concludes by saying that, in everything, however, we are more than victors, for the one who loved us?(Rom. 8,37). Is that all?What God provokes and uses in our lives. Not only good things, but also bad things.
There is much more to say, such as: our responsibility to divine providence and the special care that providence has for the Saints, we will do so in the next article. But for now, ponder these things, God is involved in COVID-19, actively involved. Not only did He allow this virus to exist, but everything was ordained and planned by Him: God controls kings and worms, He is always the same.
Why does this give us comfort and security? If God is active in all this, he has not been taken unprepared, his power is not limited, on the contrary, he operates in everything and in all, we can cry out to this sovereign God right now because he is in control.
I’d be desperate to pray to a god who’s not sovereign
Let us pray in faith:
Help me see how good your will is in everything, and even if it goes against mine, does it teach me to satisfy myself?
[1] LEWIS, C. S. The Weight of Glory. Rio de Janeiro: Thomas Nelson Brazil, 2017. p. 54
[2] CALVINO, J. La institution of the Christian religion. Books I and II? XVII. 10. Sao Paulo: Editora UNESP, 2008.
[3] CALVINO, J. La institution of the Christian religion. Should I take him? Books I and II, XVII. 4. Sao Paulo: Editora UNESP, 2008.
[4] https://www. desiringgod. org/articles/why-i-do-not-say-god-did-not-cause-the-calamity-but-he-can-use-it-for-good
[5] BENNETT, A. (organizer). The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers Brasilia, DF: Editora Monergismo, 2020. p. 23