This is going to be a very interesting few weeks ahead. My prayer is that this post brings you hope. But you might want to read it carefully…
The one fear plaguing mankind since the very beginning is the reality and certainty of death. Those without hope, those without love, those blind to the eternal nature of the human spirit, are most possessed and effected by the ultimate eventuality of their own death. The natural reaction to something like COVID-19 then, is for a person in this lost and hopeless condition is to panic, act illogically, and do whatever they can to find a way to increase their own ability to survive.
What a shame. What a loss of time. What a sad, sad, testament to a life which was designed for exactly the opposite result.
I don’t know when you last spent much time reading Psalm 139, but right about now would be a great time to dust off the old Bible sitting on the shelf, near all those self-help, nonsense works, that haven’t made a difference, and do a little reading and thinking. Stay with me here, I’m not just making this stuff up. We’ll go slowly, so you can soak some truth into that truth-starved soul and mind that might be upset about what is happening in our world.
Psalm 139:1-2
O LORD, You have searched me and know me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thoughts from afar.
So, just on the face of it, God sees exactly where you are right now. He knows the condition of your body, and He knows how panicked you are, and how hopeless you feel. He knows what you’ve been doing, and how you’ve reacted to this virus scare.
Psalm 139:3-4
You scrutinize my path, and my lying down, and are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, behold, O LORD, You know it all.
The Psalmist doesn’t want us to just skate by those first two verses, but spends a little more time detailing the exhaustive nature of God’s understanding and awareness of our condition, our thought patterns, and daily routines. He knows ALL our ways.
Psalm 139:5-6
You have enclosed me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is too high, I cannot attain it.
Here the thought shifts to gaining a little perspective of God’s control on matters of my life and yours, by understanding God’s presence all around us, all the time. It’s mind-boggling for sure, but that doesn’t negate the truth of it.
Psalm 139:7-10
Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Your hand will lay hold of me.
Stop here a minute. Don’t just read the words. Re-read them until the truth of what is stated sinks in. There is no place in this universe where you can go to hide from, escape from, or avoid God’s touch. His hand will lay hold of you, when it is time.
Psalm 139:11-12
If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, and the light around me will be night. Even the darkness is not dark to You, and the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You.
These are dark days for many people around the world. The virus is continuing to spread, with deadly results for some, and debilitating effects for others. Yet there is nothing hidden or dark or unknown about this virus to God. He sees it all with absolute clarity.
Psalm 139:13-15
For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;
Knowing that we are created, and knowing there is a Creator, also serves to give us perspective on our existence. Knowing and understanding the natural human experience of procreation, that I am a product of God’s will through the efforts of human love, should also bring some basic assurance of God’s awareness of not just my being but also my plot in life. God knows when you took your first breath, your first step, spoke your first word, had your heart broken for the first time. God knows because He is deeply invested in you. He made you in your mother’s womb.
Now comes the part I’ve anticipated writing about, so don’t miss this next part!
Psalm 139:16
Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.
Carefully read that again.
What does it mean? I believe that no one will die out of the sight of God, or at a time different than that which God chooses.
Yes, I really believe this, based on Psalm 139:16. But it wasn’t just David, the Psalmist who spoke this truth. The Author of Truth, the One who called Himself, the Truth, also said:
Matthew 6:27
And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?
And there it is. We don’t die out of God’s timing, awareness, or plan for us. All our days are written, the details of each day, hour and minute, in God’s own book. He knows us better than we even know ourselves, because He knows when we will finally see Him face to face.
This virus has no power except that given to it by God, not man. If it is man-made, then God allowed this for some purpose we don’t know and can’t know or see. If the virus is an un-natural mutation of another strain of the flu, then that too didn’t escape God’s notice as if done in darkness. He knew when it happened, allowed it, and has a purpose for allowing it within His sovereign will for mankind.
But make no mistake here. COVID-19 is limited by God’s own all-powerful control. No more will get sick than God allows. No more will die, than is predetermined by God’s plan. Since neither you nor I can do anything to alter this fact, then maybe this knowledge will help us alter our own concerns about what is happening around us.
I am in God’s care.
He loves me more than I love myself.
Jesus gave Himself for me so that I might know the truth of God’s love.
I am who He says I am, and He says I am His child.
He is in Control.
He has absolute Authority over my life.
And He is right here with me… whatever may come.
And I will not face death, until all my days are done.
Snoopy said to Charlie Brown one day, “We’re all going to die someday.”
Charlie Brown’s response bears remembering:
“But, not today.”
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As I was saying... 