So, Easter is going to be a little different this year.
With the recent coronavirus pandemic (at least in the United States currently), there will probably be no church services, no Easter egg hunts, and no family get-togethers.
Instead of shopping for Easter candy and bunny décor, we’ll be scouring the shelves for toilet paper, hand soap, and milk.
Instead of planning a huge meal and cleaning for company, we’ll be planning how to cook using our current food supply and sanitizing every corner of our homes.
Instead of getting together with a group of friends, we’ll be cooped up in our homes and cozied up in front of the tv.
Doesn’t God know that His holiday—arguably the most important holiday in the entire year—is going to be ruined by the coronavirus?
He Already Knows
God knows that the coronavirus is going to affect Easter. In fact, I know He knew this since the beginning of time. So why is this happening right now?
My small, finite mind likes to jump to conclusions: God doesn’t know what He’s doing. Why would He allow the coronavirus to affect billions of people at this special time of year? Why is He letting churches close, people isolate themselves, and illness impact so many—on the day when His Son rose from the dead?
But, as I’m sure you’ve been hearing a lot lately, God isn’t surprised by the coronavirus.
He can calm the chaos in an instant. He can heal the thousands without uttering a single word. He can change the direction of our panicked nation within seconds.
If He wanted to.
What I Know
If God wanted to end this, He could and He would. Obviously, that isn’t part of His plan right now. As much as this state of unknown frustrates me, it isn’t my right to know what’s next. But I do know this: The same God who raised His Son from the dead is the same God who is watching this coronavirus with careful attention.
I don’t know when this will all be over. But I do know that He knows when this coronavirus craze will be over. And when it is, it will seem like a speck when we look back on our lives.
Yes, the coronavirus is scary and unknown for us. But for God, it’s nothing. Not that He doesn’t care about those who are sick or in pain. But He knows the cure. He knows how long it will last. He knows when our lives will return to “normal.”
That’s why He is God and we are not.
Know Him
You might be wondering how this post relates to Easter. Well, this post is about seeing how Christ’s resurrection relates to the coronavirus. Which might seem like an odd lesson for Easter.
But I want us to know that God and His power are the same, no matter what our circumstances are. I’m not saying He will wipe out this entire disease tomorrow or heal every single person who has it. I’m simply saying that the power He used to raise Jesus from the dead is the same power that can make the coronavirus disappear.
And [He was] declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ… (Romans 1:4-6 NKJV)
This passage actually comes from Paul’s introduction to the book of Romans. However, I think it’s appropriate for our discussion of God’s power. If we started applying the life, death, and resurrection of Christ to our current circumstances, life might not seem so scary.
If He could walk on the stormy seas without a single stumble…
If He could hang upon the cross without rebuking His haters or protesting His pain…
If He could rise up from the depths of death and save humanity from its grasp…
Then the coronavirus must be like a grain of sand on the seashore in His eyes.
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