Disruptions

One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.” Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.—Job 1:6-12

A few weeks ago, I told my husband I felt led to write something about the disruptions God allows in our lives. “What brought that on?” “Job,” I answered. Job is a book I have chewed through many times.

Then that night, I woke myself from a nightmare that my husband asked for a divorce. I told him about the dream the next morning. “Now THAT would be a disruption!” I said. We both laughed.

But THIS—this new reality that has become a living nightmare for so many—THIS is a true disruption. Few of us are laughing. Many are terrified of the present and more terrified of the future. Many are facing their terror alone, in quarantine. 

We as Christians need to remember a few important realities:

  1. God has allowed this pandemic because all things come by His hand.
  2. God is sovereign, good, omnipresent, omniscient, all-powerful and mighty to save.
  3. He uses all things for the good of those who love Him and for His glory.
  4. He will never leave or forsake us.
  5. He is able to do exceeding abundantly more than we can ask or think according to the power at work within us.
  6. He is the God who brings life from death.
  7. He is the God who speaks peace, and all is still.

Father, we need You desperately. Paint the blood of the Lamb over the doorposts of Your children’s homes, and protect them from this plague. Let us lean into You, and let us represent and serve You well. Let us be Your hands, Your feet and Your mouthpiece in a time of turmoil and need. Bring swift healing to those are ill. Let people—particularly Your children—consider others more important than themselves. Help us to bear one another’s burdens in love. Let people see You in us, and draw them to Yourself. Use this pandemic to heal the divisions in our nation and in our world. Let kindness and grace reign. Let Your peace triumph over fear. Elevate truth over lies. Work sovereignly and redemptively so Your name is glorified and Your gospel is proclaimed. I ask all this in the mighty name of our Savior, whose name is the name above all names. Amen.