And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christs sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 12: 8 - 10 NKJV
As our nation prepares to open after a few months of being in lockdown over a government overreaction to a virus outbreak, the desire of many Americans is simply to "return to normal." Sadly, a return to normal may take much longer than we might hope. For myself, I long for the days when I could schedule my own day and live my life free of interference from any and all authorities. Well, it was fun while it lasted. A return to a normal way of life may be different depending on who it is you ask. Before the shutdown of our nation, our economy was doing very well, with more people in the workforce than ever before. That is not a bad thing. We were free to go anywhere, do anything and live our lives in a way a free people do. That is what a return to normal looks like for me. I also believe that, in time, that we can return to our way of life we enjoyed before the virus came knocking. A friend of mine asked me a interesting question the other day. Do you think that the current situation is somehow Gods punishment upon a unbelieving people? Well, I had to stop him right there because I get really nervous when people mention God and punishment in the same sentence. After all, it is God who loved me enough to save me from myself {2 Corinthians 5:21}. It is God who dealt a death blow to sin that I would no longer be enslaved by it {Romans 6:11}. If you ask me, everything God has accomplished in me has been done out of love and not to punish me. This has never been our Lords objective. We are told that love is Gods true nature {1 John 4:8}. Yet, whenever one of these tragedies or bad situations comes upon us, that same old question keeps popping up. Why is God punishing us? I am not naïve enough to believe that I know more about Gods motives than most. I also know that I cannot pretend to know as much as my heavenly Father does about any given situation {Isaiah 55:8}. So it is that God will work the outcome of those situations which worry us according to His desired outcome. Knowing this, a better question to ask would be, "What is it you're doing here God?" Simple, direct and to the point.
I do not need to punish people for sin. Sin is it's own punishment, devouring you from the inside. It's not my purpose to punish it; it's my joy to cure it.
William P. Young, The Shack
I don't blame my friend for asking that question. As Christians we have been conditioned to believe that whenever bad things happen, that God is somehow angry and dealing our His Devine punishment. We see it all through old covenant (Testament) writings. Sorry, but I will never believe that it is Gods desire for me to live in fear of what He might do next. I know that it is the Lords desire that I flourish {Jeremiah 29:11}. So, how is it Gods desire for me to flourish in our current environment? Well, I have been blessed so far to still be employed as a so called "essential" worker. Far too often we look for the negative in our situations and ignore the bright side. The fact that I am still working is indeed a good thing. Listening to Rush Limbaugh the other day I heard him say something that struck a chord with me. As he looked around the nation at the unemployment numbers and closed businesses, Limbaugh said that he puts a face to each one of those. These are simply not unemployment numbers to be tallied each week, these are people who have lost the ability to earn a income. These are not simply numbers of victims, they are family members lost. This puts our current situation in a entire new perspective. It has never been about me, but about what God has been working through it. Every day we see Him at work when we see stories of a family saved from financial pitfall or another life saved in this pandemic. Let not our own pride fool us into believing that we will soon discover a vaccine for this virus. For if God desires that for His children, He will provide it. Of course, knowing God as I do, I believe that He has already provided for our good. I also believe that He will provide for our transition back into our normal way of life as well.
For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.
Romans 8: 24 - 25 NKJV
~Scott~
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