Where is God During Covid-19?

In today’s episode I want to explore the question: Where is God During Covid-19?

Recently, I learned that a friend of mine in the Philippines, Pastor Diawa, contracted Covid-19. Others in his family were also sick with the virus. Worse than that, some of his friends, also pastors of churches in the area, have died as a result of Covid-19.

This deadly disease has caused great pain and sorrow for the families, friends, and congregations of these faithful men of God. All this suffering begs the question: where is God during Covid-19?

The Filipino people have suffered many natural disasters: earthquakes, volcanoes, and typhoons. Filipinos bear these tragedies with faith, believing in God’s love and goodness. Covid-19, however, is a different sort of disaster. This virus is an invisible threat that can be seen only when it strikes someone down. Because of Covid’s insidiousness, people are having doubts about God. In the back of their minds, they question God’s goodness.

Maybe you have doubts about God. Maybe Covid has made you ask the question: Where is God?

Let me say, first of all, don’t be afraid to have doubts or questions. Doubts and questions about God are not bad. Doubts about God and questions about God can actually lead to greater faith. Even Jesus cried from the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Secondly, don’t try to solve the mystery of why God allows bad things to happen on your own. Don’t look for answers by using your own ability to reason. You can’t rely on personal experience or intuition to provide answers to life’s questions. If you try on our own to understand why God allows bad things to happen, you’ll probably come to the wrong conclusions.

Hindus, for example, see a world of suffering and heartache, and they conclude that God is neither good nor bad. Their personal observations of the world lead them to a false conclusion. In the same way, the Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, saw a world of suffering and concluded there is no god.

Fortunately, there is a god–our God, the all-powerful creator of the universe, but you can’t learn about God through your own perception of life or through intuition. The only reliable place to look for answers is in God’s word the Bible. The Bible is the only reliable source of information.

So what does the Bible tell us about God? The Bible tells us that God is all-powerful. The Bible says, “With God, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).” God can easily protect us from Covid-19. The Bible says, “He will deliver you from . . . the deadly pestilence (Psalm 91:3).”

If God is able to protect us from Covid, why doesn’t he? Does God’s inaction mean that he doesn’t love us? What does the Bible say? The Bible says that God loves us. The Bible says, “He loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins (1 John 4:10).” God cares about us. The Bible says, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness (Exodus 34:6).” The Bible tells us also that God does not want us to suffer. The Bible says, “I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).”.

So if God loves us and is able to protect us, why does he allow us to get sick and die? Let me tell you a story.

Many years ago, when I was a student attending Bible college, my pastor told a story that helped me understand why God allows Christians to suffer. The story was about his father. His father was a good Christian pastor who loved God and faithfully served God. Yet, in spite of being a good and faithful Christian, his father suffered a serious heart condition. The heart condition made him weak and eventually led to his death. Before his father died, my pastor asked his dad, “Why? Why has God allowed you to get sick?”
His father replied: “Why not?”

That’s a good answer. You see, being a Christian does not protect us from the same problems and diseases that plague the rest of humanity. Being a good Christian does not immunize us against death and disease. The bottom line is—we will all get sick. We will all die. Death and disease are part of life. We cannot avoid it. No matter how much you love God, no matter how faithfully you serve him, sickness and death come to all of us. The Bible says, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die (Ecclesiastees 3:1-2).”

God has created a world–the best of all possible worlds–where both good and bad happens. And in this best of all possible worlds, God allows bad things to happen to both believers and to unbelievers.

So what advantage is there to being a Christian? If God allows Christians to suffer, what benefit is there to being a Christian?

First of all, Christians have been forgiven of their sins. We are free of guilt and judgment and are guaranteed an eternal home in heaven.

Second, Christians enjoy a special relationship with God that unbelievers don’t have. The Bible says that everyone who has believed in Jesus as their Lord and Savior are children of God and indwelt by God’s Holy Spirit.

Third, as children of God, we enjoy special blessings that unbelievers don’t have. The Bible says that God has blessed his children “with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Ephesians 1:3).” Some of these blessing include a new purpose in life and the ability to change our behavior through the power of God’s word.

Fourth, as Christians we belong to a loving community of believers.

Does your special relationship with God mean that you will never have problems? Listen to what Jesus says. Jesus says, “In this world you will have trouble.” Then he adds: “Take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Your special relationship with God means that sometimes, God will move on your behalf. Sometimes God will protect you, but sometimes, God allows bad things to happen. Think about your human parents. Even though they love you, your mother and father cannot magically prevent you from getting sick. “Yes,” you say, “but God is all-powerful. He can protect us, if he wanted to.”

Yes, God could protect you from Covid, if he wanted to, but God has a plan–a plan that sometimes involves suffering. God allows bad things to happen not because he wants bad things to happen, but because they are part of his plan. God could have created a world where nothing bad happens, but in his infinite wisdom, he created a world where bad things happen—even to those he loves.

Knowing that God has a plan and purpose for your life can help you when you are suffering. Knowing that God allows suffering for his own purposes can help you overcome your doubts about God’s goodness. You can overcome doubt by knowing that somehow, in God’s infinite wisdom, everything is working together for good. The Bible says that “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him (Romans 8:28).” We have God’s promise that he will take your suffering and use it to do good.

Please pray for my friends in the Philippines. Unlike people in the United States, they have little access to vaccines and to treatment. If you like, here is a short prayer you can pray: Lord, you are our savior. You alone are the almighty God. Deliver the Filipino people from Covid and give them your strength. In Jesus’ name, amen.