Confidence in the Face of COVID-19
“A Psalm of David. The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread? When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh, My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell. Though a host encamp against me, My heart will not fear; Though war arise against me, In spite of this I shall be confident. One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord And to meditate in His temple. For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle; In the secret place of His tent He will hide me; He will lift me up on a rock. And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me, And I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord. Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice, And be gracious to me and answer me. When You said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You, “Your face, O Lord, I shall seek.” Do not hide Your face from me, Do not turn Your servant away in anger; You have been my help; Do not abandon me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation! For my father and my mother have forsaken me, But the Lord will take me up. Teach me Your way, O Lord, And lead me in a level path Because of my foes. Do not deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries, For false witnesses have risen against me, And such as breathe out violence. I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.” (Psalm 27, NASB95)
There are several helpful reminders in this Psalm as we deal with COVID-19 and the interruption to our lives that it has facilitated. First, we need to remember that this world is not our home. At least not permanently. If you are a follower of Jesus, there will be a new earth that will one day come where we won’t deal with these pandemics, cancers, brokenness, or sorrows. Because of that reality, we do not need to live in terror of this disease. Does that mean that we should go around acting ridiculous, or not taking sensible precautions? Of course not! It just means that we don’t need to live in fear and panic while doing so.
Second, we need to remember that, although this situation seems out of control, nothing is ever out of God’s control. Is it out of ours? Yes. Maybe for a while, but it is never out of God’s control. Our response needs to be to pray, seek God’s face, turn from our own wicked ways and share with others the love, confidence, and forgiveness that can only be found in a relationship with Jesus. We also need to remember that those who pass from this life without Him will wish for days like we are experiencing now because Hell is much worse.
Third, we need to believe that God is going to act, not just someday, but here and now. It might not be as soon as we would like, but God has a plan. We need to ensure that we don’t give up hope. David said that he would have despaired unless he believed he would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. We need to have that same confidence. God is at work. I know that He is at work because our little church that normally runs 200-250 saw 615 connections to our livestream this week. On top of that, another several hundred have watched the service since then. We clearly presented the gospel and the need to hang on to God and He spoke to people all over the world.
Lastly, we need to wait on the Lord. That does not mean that we simply do nothing, live in denial, or refuse to face reality. It means that while we are working, we are also waiting for God to work. We still help feed people. We still visit our neighbors and help with trips to the grocery store. We still share our meals, our time, and our lives with others, but we do so safely and with the confidence of knowing that it will not always be this way and God is up to something.
While our churches are not meeting at their buildings, the church is still the church, God is still God, heaven is still real, sin is still a problem, Hell is still hot, and salvation is still available. That alone gives us confidence in the face of COVID-19.