Clarity is the security blanket that protects us from the uncomfortable, unknown and uncertain. COVID-19 has suddenly stripped us of any security, throwing us into what feels like a thick fog that settles in without warning or any indicator of when it might lift. The pandemic-induced confusion has left many of us, Christians included, with internalized anger and anxiety. With every additional day of lockdown and spikes in sickness, we ask ourselves more frantically, when will it end? Why hasn’t God stopped this yet? Where is His good and perfect plan?
The more we look inward during this difficult time, the farther we stray from building up a faith that stands on wisdom and can weather the storms of life. Rather than internalizing everything the world uses to distract us during crisis, we must internalize God’s truth that remains relevant in every age, pandemic, or no pandemic.
There are three distinct realities we must intentionally internalize during this trying time and beyond:
We need to internalize God’s priority.
In Exodus 33:12, Moses breaks down in frustration to God, asking when He will send someone to help him lead the Israelites as God had promised to do. But instead of giving Moses a leadership companion, God gave him something even better: His holy presence.
Today, because of Jesus, we have the gift of God’s presence and companionship. He is our ever-present help in times of trouble. Still, like Moses, we may find ourselves feeling unsatisfied with the help we have in God because He isn’t providing clarity in the timeframe or manner we would most prefer.
This attitude is an indicator that we have internalized the wrong priority. Instead of making God our Lord in all situations, we have made Him our default. Just as Moses broke down and needed a wake-up call before He realized that going forth with God’s presence was the best thing, many of us need to utilize this time to repent and make Him our priority once again.
We need to internalize God’s sovereignty.
The story of Jesus calming the storm while on a boat with His disciples is among one of the most famous accounts from the Bible, perhaps because there are so many different lessons to glean from such a short story. During this pandemic, I keep coming back to the basics of that story: the winds and the waves obeyed the voice of God; they were sovereign to Him. I think the same is true of the coronavirus. It knows the voice of God because He is sovereign and can change the course of anything with one word.
Therefore, when He doesn’t seem to be taking action or is allowing events to continue, we can safely assume that He is working something out that will fulfill His sovereign plan.
No institution or illness could ever even come close to overpowering the sovereignty of God. When fear and anxiety creep in amid lack of clarity, God’s sovereignty is what we must choose to internalize: “What he opens, no one can shut; and what he shuts, no one can open” (Isaiah 22:22 NIV).
We need to internalize God’s love for humanity.
Christians often quote Jeremiah 29:11 to remind ourselves that God has a good plan for us, which is true, and we can praise Him for that. However, it’s important to note the context of that verse. God was assuring the people of Judah that He had a plan that would ultimately serve to prosper them, but that plan would include years of captivity and exile. When you put it in that framework, it doesn’t sound like such a good plan anymore to many of us.
But just as labor pains precede the gift of new life, and crucifixion occurred before the resurrection, life’s greatest gifts and joys are often preluded by times of difficulty.
During this pandemic, we must look upward to the love that God has for us. Because if we look too often to the past, we will be resentful and envious of what was. If we stay fixated on the present, our pain can feel constant. But if we look forward with faith that God loved Himself enough to give up His one and only Son and is unfolding a plan far greater than one we could envision for ourselves, we will be filled with His hope and peace that transcends understanding.
Clarity comes with complete and utter dependence on God. As we’ve noticed, the news changes daily, and once hopeful projections for the future can shift in an instant. It is fruitless to expect the things of this world to give us clarity. But the good news is that we serve a God who has proven again and again that He always takes care of His people through every disaster and tragedy.
Our clarity is this: that God loves us enough to have a sovereign plan throughout all situations, and when we make Him our priority, we can find rest for our souls.
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Lolo Stock
Kenny Luck is the Founder and President of Every Man Ministries. Kenny is the leadership and teaching pastor at Crossline Church in Laguna Hills, California. He is an ECPA Platinum award-winning author of 24 books covering marriage, family, and men's issues. Kenny has been a featured guest on FOX News and is the driving force behind the Every Man Global LIVESTREAM and podcasts heard around the world.
