God is at work

On Sunday, Queen Elizabeth II made a rare television appearance to encourage the British people, but her words also resonate outside England.

She expressed gratitude to healthcare workers and caregivers. She voiced her appreciation for their service and said it “brings us closer to a return for more normal times...”

She recalled speaking to her nation at age 16 when children were being evacuated during World War II. She said, “People will feel a painful sense of separation from loved ones,” but that self-isolation “is the right thing to do.”

She continued, “We should take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return…”

People are experiencing this crisis in very different ways.

In The Daily Article, on March 31, Dr. Jim Denison quoted Lulian Lorenzo, a 38-year-old Italian doctor who observed that, “Until two weeks ago, we and many of my colleagues were atheists. One hundred percent believed that science excludes God because we are doctors…

“I used to look at my parents at church and mock them. A 75-year-old clergyman arrived here nine days ago. A poor man. He was struggling to breathe. But, he always had a Bible in his hand. He reads it to the patients who are dying.”

Because of the coronavirus, Dr. Lorenzo and his physician friends have begun to realize that “as human beings, we have reached our limits… We began to feel that God begins where man ends.”

The former atheist admits that he now prays for help and courage. He said, “…I will live like that priest until my last breath.”

The COVID-19 crisis is terrible, and the officials with access to the most current information say things will get worse before they improve. However, we need not lose hope because God often weaves good things from bad thread.

The fact that this Sunday is Easter is especially significant this year.

Jesus’ closest followers believed he was the Messiah, the one who would make Israel what God wanted it to become. They were filled with panic and pain when Jesus was crucified— in their wildest dreams they could not see God bringing something good out of something so unimaginable.

However, without the crucifixion on Good Friday, we could not fully appreciate the hope of the resurrection on Easter Sunday.

Their overwhelming despair was replaced with an amazing spiritual perspective.

Scripture records it this way, “Then he (Jesus) said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!’ ‘My Lord and my God!’ Thomas exclaimed.” (John 20:27-28, NLT)

Easter dramatically demonstrates that God is always at work even when we do not understand what he is doing.

I cannot fully comprehend why God has allowed the coronavirus to change our lives, but I have faith that he will bring good things out of this horrible crisis.

Tim Richards grew up in Fairdealing and previously served as associate pastor of Pilgrim’s Rest Church there. He currently serves as a pastor on the staff of Concord Church in South County St. Louis.