How do we handle it when God throws what is perceived as a curveball our way? When we watched the ball drop and brought in the year 2020, I don’t think anyone said, “By the end of the month of March, I will be quarantined at my home and mandated to stay away from church and work.” That’s not how most of us think; we make plans based on our normal routine and activities. How do we respond to the “loss of control” that has come our way?
A few years ago, my family came up against a huge and abrupt change of plans when my daughter was diagnosed with leukemia while we were on vacation across the country. I would like to share a couple things that we learned through the ups, down, twists and turns of our last curveball that have helped our thinking through COVID-19.
God has not called us to control our situation, just to respond right in the midst of it. Over and over in scripture we see God warning us that trials and difficulties will come. He does not tell us that we must “fight the power” that is oppressing us, instead He tells us things like “count it all joy” (James 1:2-3) and “be ye holy in all manner of conversation” (1 Peter 1:6-16). Let’s not forget Paul’s words from prison, “Rejoice in the Lord” (Philippians 4:4).
God has not called us to understand our situation, but make sure that our thinking about it lines up with His thinking. There are so many ways that people have the opportunity to share their opinion of how things should be dealt with. I remember the suggestions that we received that were well-meaning, but ultimately unhelpful. It’s hard when someone not connected with our situations gives uninformed opinion of what decisions need to be made. In contrast, we were extremely thankful for those who sent cards or notes that were filled with scripture. We covered the available wall space of our different hospital rooms with God’s words and His opinions. This allowed us to do what Paul told the Ephesians to do, to 'Be renewed in the spirit of your mind” (Ephesians 4:23).
We don’t trust in our government or job to provide for and protect us, we trust in our faithful Heavenly Father. After a particularly bleak test result for our daughter, our doctor reminded us that “If God wants her to live, the statistics don’t matter. If God wants her to die, there is nothing the doctors can do anyway.” This is just what we needed as a reminder of what we had been saying—we were looking to God to heal her. When we kept hearing that things weren’t progressing as we expected, we found we really trusted something else. I know that there are many things that we look to for help, but we must remember that we serve a God that “will neither slumber nor sleep.” God has given us so many promises that He will take care of us, especially in the middle of uncertainty.
You don’t have to be at church to continue to grow. I am so thankful for the abilities that God has provided in this age to stream messages and church services or even connect with others face-to-face through technology. We cannot overlook the God-given directive to assemble, but think of the people Peter was writing to when he told them to “minister...one to another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (I Peter 4:10). These people were “scattered abroad” and displaced by some serious problems. They still had the responsibility to rejoice, live holy, and serve each other. Maybe this is just a chance for us all to work on our “Little House on the Prairie” skills and write a letter or share with our neighbor. Our worlds just got smaller, but don’t forget that as Christians, we are called and enabled by the Holy Spirit to do right and serve.
God has put us all in a unique classroom right now. For many of us it is a home-school classroom. Let’s be good learners—not fighting the fact that we have to continue learning, but instead ready to receive the lessons that are being taught.