As the coronavirus spreads across the world most of our activities have ceased and our earth has fallen silent. Covid 19 is a huge challenge to our values, our lifestyle and even to our religious beliefs and practices. The contagious and deadly impact of this virus is causing many of us to experience feelings of fear, anxiety, insecurity and vulnerability. Each of us has to find our own way of dealing with these feelings. One way is to turn to God.
If we chose to turn to God what do we need to know about God that will offer us some comfort and hope? There are three things we can say with certainty about the God of Jesus.
The first thing is the personal nature of the God of Jesus. The God of Jesus is a personal God who knows each of us individually and uniquely. “I have called you by your name, you are mine” (Isaiah 43:1). “I have carved your name on the palm of my hand” (Isaiah 49:16). Each of us is a name to God, not a number. Of this we can be sure. Here is how the psalmist describes the intimate knowledge God has of every human person, “O Lord, you search me and you know me, you know my resting and my rising. You mark when I walk or lie down, all my ways lie open to you. For it was you who created my being, knit me together in my mother’s womb. I thank you for the wonder of my being, for the wonders of all your creation. Already you knew my soul, my body held no secret from you when I was being fashioned in secret and moulded in the depths of the earth” (Psalm 139). Then of course there were the actions of Jesus who was the human face of God. When one sheep out of a hundred strayed and got lost he went in search of it until he found it. Jesus forgot no one and included everyone.
The second thing we know about the God of Jesus has to do with unconditional love. The God of Jesus loves each and every one of us unconditionally. “I have loved you with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3). “You are precious in my eyes and honoured and I love you” (Isaiah 43:4). “You are my beloved son/daughter in whom I take delight” (Mark 1:11). God cannot not love us unconditionally because God is unconditional love. We may find it difficult to love ourselves unconditionally but we must not project this unto God. In the words of Pope Francis, “When all is said and done we are infinitely loved.” We are infinitely loved and nothing can change this fact. The only real biblical promise is that unconditional love will have the final say.
The third thing we can be certain of is that the God of Jesus will not allow evil and its consequence, death, to destroy us. We need to know that we are safe. We also need to know that we are not going to be annihilated. The God of Jesus assures us that he is in control and that he is faithful to all that he has created. “Do not be afraid for I have redeemed you. Should you pass through the sea, I will be with you; or through rivers, they will not swallow you up. Should you walk through fire, you will not be scorched and the flames will not burn you, for I am your God, your saviour. Do not be afraid, for I am with you” (Isaiah 43:1-7). The God of Jesus raised Jesus from the dead and he will give life to our mortal bodies too. God’s message to us is clear: Love is stronger than hate; goodness greater than evil; life more powerful than death. The God of Jesus is in control of life and death. We have nothing to fear. Because of God’s presence in our lives, “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well” (Julian of Norwich).
During this time of world crisis when we are likely to feel a sense of helplessness, powerlessness and insecurity we may find some reassurance and comfort in this short prayer of faith:
God, the Father of Jesus,
I believe that you
Know me personally,
Love me unconditionally,
Save me from evil and death.
Help me to trust you,
To have faith that all will be well. Amen.