The world as we know it has changed and we don’t know when it will go back to the way it was (if it ever will). This has begun to reveal what we subtly hope in day in and day out as we feel our fears and frustrations from lost comforts and conveniences.

The Struggle is Real

This title is not meant to be a trite, one-liner for the season of life we find ourselves in. The world around us is different. Things are not as they were a month ago or even a week. There is a virus that is spreading and causing pain to people close to us. There is an economic crunch coming as many people we know come into the reality of unemployment. There are health care workers already feeling weary and a bit fearful of what is to come. There are empty streets, malls, restaurants, and lots of empty time – all waiting to be filled with joy, laughter, purpose, and productivity.

The world as we know it has changed and we don’t know when it will go back to the way it was (if it ever will). This has begun to reveal what we subtly hope in day in and day out as we feel our fears and frustrations from lost comforts and conveniences.

As Christians, we can admit that as we look around at an invisible, yet looming evil, and feel our helplessness we feel like King Jehoshaphat who cried out, “Lord, we do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you” (2 Chronicles 20:12).

Stripped of Good to Be Satisfied in God

Yet, perhaps a not-so-subtle hidden purpose in all of this is that God means to work fresh dependence in his people. Make no mistakes, God reigns over pandemics (2 Chronicles 7:12-15) and over and over again in history when pain comes to God’s people, prayer rises from God’s people. Why? Do we pray because we suddenly believe in prayer? No. We’ve always believed in prayer. We pray because our need for our all-powerful God to meet us with his power and presence is highlighted – we believe in God and so we pray!

As God works dependence in his people and strips other things away (the world is literally shut down right now in many ways!), the beautiful surprise in the midst of suffering is the sustaining presence and power of God. God’s people realize that God really is enough. God’s people realize that all his promises to “finish the work he started,” to “never leave or forsake us,” to “not break a bruised reed or put out a smoldering wick,” and to promise that “nothing can separate us from the love of God” really do find their “Yes” in Jesus Christ and are applied in moment-by-moment mercies in the power of the ever-present Spirit.

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