The Most Important Truth about Covid

Other than mentioning Covid-19 in passing, I haven’t talked about it much here.

Perspectives vary greatly. So much regarding how we see things depends on where we live, where we get our news, our health status, our political leanings, the way we were raised, how we process mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

Even so, one thing seems obvious. Fear has been running rampant since Covid took over the world going on two years ago.

Like our opinions about Covid itself, what we are most afraid of seems to line up with our background, beliefs and life experiences. I’m not going to make a list—you know what makes you most anxious, as do I.

That said, in the early days of the lockdowns, I sensed God leading me to work out a certain part of my salvation with fear and trembling—that being the biblical command not to worry about tomorrow but to let tomorrow worry about itself. (Matthew 6:34) (This, after a literal lifetime of reading the end of the book first so I can breathe easier as the story plays out.)

God has graciously freed me from a great deal of worry over the years, mostly by putting me in situations in which I had no option but to try to trust Him completely with the outcome. The what-ifs still strike every now and then, however, and Covid presented a golden opportunity to confront them once and for all.

As I wrote here and here, it was a huge shift in mindset and perspective. Since then, I’ve had fits and starts, two steps forward and three steps back, you know the drill.

Where I am now, almost two years later, is in a place of much greater awareness. I’m not at the mercy of the what-ifs; if I do start down that road, I know it’s possible to turn myself around and head in a more productive direction.

Case in point. The week before Christmas, our plans were all made—written in pen in my planner, no less—to visit my mother-in-law for the holiday. Then someone in my house got sick, and I started fretting about how this was going to affect all the moving parts.

The day before we finally realized we had to cancel our travel plans, the verse I’ve repeated frequently in this space came to mind during my morning prayer time.

“The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you.” (Deuteronomy 31:8a)

The truth of this scripture, which has been taped to the door of my refrigerator for years, hit me like I’d never heard it before. Whatever happened in the next few days, it would not be a surprise to God. He already knew. He was already there.

It would be OK. Christmas would still happen, even if it didn’t look like we originally imagined.

This brings me to the most important truth about Covid, one that has nothing to do with masks, vaccines, lockdowns, hospitalizations or comorbidities: God is sovereign over Covid.

According to the late theologian Jerry Bridges,

“The sovereignty of God means that He is in absolute control of every event and circumstance in His creation. As the Psalmist put it, ‘Our God is in the heavens; He does all that He pleases.’ (Psalm 115:3)  …  Centuries ago, Augustine said, ‘Nothing, therefore, happens unless the Omnipotent wills it to happen; He either permits it to happen, or He brings it about himself.’ This means that nothing in your life is so small or trivial as to escape the attention of His sovereign control; and nothing is so great as to be beyond His power to control it.”

Nothing, including Covid.

Here’s the deal, though. It’s easy to toss out references to God’s sovereignty when we’re talking about events and situations we can hold at arm’s length. Other people’s sicknesses. Tragic events in another state or on the other side of the globe. Elections that turn out how we prefer. Even deaths on a chart from another country.

When the hardships and disappointments start hitting closer to home, however, what we actually believe about God’s character is put to the test.

The last few years have been difficult for many people, for many reasons. The losses have been deep, personal, confusing and frustrating.

Uncertainty about so many things has made us all that much more susceptible to fear and anxiety. And, perhaps, more likely to doubt what we’ve always believed about God.

And yet.

God’s sovereignty doesn’t run up to Covid and stop. Either He’s sovereign over Covid or He’s not sovereign over anything.

I have no idea how the virus fits into God’s purposes for the world or for each of us personally. But for me, God’s sovereignty is bedrock theological truth. It doesn’t eliminate how I might feel about any given situation or set of circumstances, but it does comfort me in the midst of anxiety and uncertainty.

I can’t explain God’s sovereignty but I choose to believe in it.

♥ Lois

P.S. I’m linking up this week with #tellhisstory, InstaEncouragements, Recharge Wednesday, Let’s Have Coffee and Grace & Truth.