In 2018 and 2019, I wrote about some things I wasn’t thankful for at Thanksgiving. This Thanksgiving, there’s one more thing I’m not thankful for that I want to share. I bet you can guess what it is.
Oh, COVID-19
COVID-19, thank you for changing our plans and crushing our expectations. Thank you for shutting down our churches, schools, and businesses. Thank you for sending us home from work—both temporarily and permanently. Thank you for cancelling the weddings, graduations, and other milestone events that we’d been planning for forever.
Look at the mess you’ve made, COVID-19. Look at all the hearts you’ve broken, the relationships you’ve ended, and the dreams you’ve crushed. Look at the businesses you’ve forced into bankruptcy and the political leaders you’ve ruined. Look at the fear and the anxiety you’ve caused so many people. Why did you do this to us?
God, why did You do this to us?
Isn’t that the real question that we’re asking, friends? Sure, we can put the blame on the coronavirus. But it can’t answer our questions or demands. God can. He knows why the coronavirus has affected so many lives—for the ones who have been sick and for the ones who haven’t. All of us have been affected by this disease, and He knows why.
He Doesn’t See Chaos
I doubt that we’re going to find out that reason in this life, but I do want us to think about it for a moment. God knows why the coronavirus happened. It isn’t a random accident. It isn’t fate. It isn’t chance. There’s a reason why it happened, and God knows what that reason is.
So praise Him that He knows.
When the national leaders in the news don’t have answers, God is sovereign. When the local officials in your city are confused, God is steady. When your school administrators or business leaders or church staff are unsure, God is stable.
Friends, don’t misunderstand me here. I’m not saying that God caused the coronavirus. But I am saying that God allowed the coronavirus because He allowed sinful humans with a freewill to choose sin. As a pastor recently explained to me, the Fall caused a lot of unpleasant consequences for sinful humanity, including illness and death. But I believe that God can still use this seemingly messy situation for good—if we let Him.
[Joseph speaking to his brothers] “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. (Genesis 50:20-21 ESV)
The coronavirus doesn’t look like chaos in God’s eyes. He knows every single person whose life has changed because of this illness. And He’s working behind the scenes in big ways. I’m thankful for that this Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving!
Tizzie's Tidbits of Truth 