Why, in times of panic and uncertainty, is it important to remember our God is in the heavens? Why, in the face of a rapidly-spreading global pandemic, does God’s sovereign reign over all things impart sanity, peace and hope? The answer is simple, yet can be difficult to grasp when all that once was solid in the world starts to crumble. The answer we must take hold of and cling to in troubled times is this: Our lives do not depend on the possibility of a virus entering our bodies, but on the God who controls every mote, microbe and molecule. God, who is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, determines both the beginning and end of our lives down to the millisecond.
When events beyond our control begin to dominate our perspective, we fall prey to the fear of “what if?” What if I get sick? What if someone I love dies? What if the economy collapses? These anxious thoughts reveal something to us, something we take great pains to ignore when our health is good and the economy is stable and the sun is shining. They reveal the fact that we’re not really as in control as we like to think we are. Let me go further. Catastrophes and crises expose the illusion of human control for what it is: a lie. Mankind was never meant to be on the throne, and deadly epidemics are just one of the many disastrous results of rejecting the rule of God.
However, we must not exaggerate our situation. Coronavirus is just one more on a long list of possible ways to die in a world where death is not a chance, but a certainty. Rather than ignoring death in our everyday lives and panicking about it when things like disease and wars and natural disasters yank the blinders off our eyes, we ought to deal with it once and for all. Death awaits every human being; it is only a matter of time. We must confront it head-on, but not with spiritual platitudes and feel-good ideologies. The only sure way to confront death is through the cross of Christ.
The Bible says, “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). The reason we die is because we have sinned against a holy God. The reason we fear death is because we instinctively know, deep down in our souls, that we are guilty, and that judgment awaits us after this life. “God has set eternity in the heart of man” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). We act like we’re going to live forever because it’s true! But if death should find us still in our sins, then our eternity will be spent in a place where all hope of deliverance is lost beyond recovery.
Life’s calamities are God’s wake-up call. It is a mercy when the false foundation we’ve built our lives upon is shaken, when our hope in health, wealth and humanity is shattered. It is in these moments that God bends down and offers us His comforting embrace. In the cacophony of our fears, He whispers, “Come to me…and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). When death looms large and ominous on the horizon, God beckons us to turn our gaze to the cross. He invites us to put our trust in Him, to believe in Jesus Christ and the eternal life He offers through His sacrifice. Beloved, God is waiting for you with open arms!
We must come to realize we can have either the illusion of control, or Christ, but we cannot have both. The call of the Gospel is to re-enthrone God in our lives. It raises the white flag of surrender in our rebel hearts and submits everything to His rule. Only then can we receive the hope, peace and sanity of knowing our God is in control. Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27). The peace of God is unshakeable. Untouchable. It bears the believer above the waves of circumstance and buoys them up in the raging storms of life. It is a peace that knows nothing—neither death nor diseases, nor any other power in this life—can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38–39).
God is on the throne. He is in the heavens, and He will do as He pleases. And those whom Christ has given eternal life are never outside of His sovereign care and perfect love—He holds them in the palm of His hand (John 10:28). So my question is: Who’s holding you?