CORONAVIRUS: TRUSTING GOD TOO MUCH?

Should our trust in the sovereignty and protection of God override any consideration of the dangers? Sixteen thousand from 30 nations, belonging to a back-to-Muhammad movement, gathered in Malaysia despite the threat of Covid-19.

·       Three weeks later, participants in the 16,000-strong gathering of the world’s biggest Islamic missionary movement had spread the coronavirus to half a dozen nations, creating the largest known viral vector in Southeast Asia. More than 620 people connected to the four-day conclave have tested positive in Malaysia. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/20/world/asia/coronavirus-malaysia-muslims-outbreak.html

One attendee explained that, because of their trust in God, there was no need for any concern about the coronavirus:

·       “None of us have a fear of corona,” said one of them, Roni Arif, the head of a community health center in Mamuju, Sulawesi. “We are afraid of God.”

·       “All sickness and all health is from God,” said Mr. Roni, who is employed on the local level by the ministry of health. “Whatever happens to us is God’s will.”

According to another attendee, because of God’s omnipotence, concern about any threat would be unnecessary:

·       “It’s not reckless for us to have come here and gathered in big groups,” said Ilman Murgan, a farmer. “It’s important for us to learn how to draw ourselves closer to God.”

I don’t mean to pick on Islam. We Christians face the same theological conundrum. Scripture tells us to trust in God completely (Psalm 62), and yet our Bible continually instructs us to be guided by wisdom and prudence. But why even bother with reason and wisdom if God has appointed the length of the days of our lives (Psalm 139:16), and boundaries of our nations (Acts 17:26), our works (Ephesians 2:10), and even our very footsteps (Psalm 37:23). What then is left for us to do apart from trusting God?

We tend to think that if God is responsible for everything, then we are responsible for nothing. However, this isn’t the message of the Bible. Instead, the Scriptures make it clear that our role and responsibilities are almost limitless.

How then are we to understand and embrace these two sets of truths - that God reigns in every area of our lives but that we are also responsible agents, who will reap the consequences of our mindless actions. Paul united these two truths together:

·       But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. (1 Corinthians 15:10)

Paul had often affirmed the necessity of our diligent work, as he had done above. But he also affirmed that everything he is and does is the result of the grace of God. This means that there isn’t any clear division of labor or responsibility between ourselves and God but an overlap. It is as if we are participating in a dance with our Savior, but it is He who provides the lead and guides our steps to coincide with His own:

·       If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. (Galatians 5:25)

Do I understand this? Not really. Instead, I am left with the lingering question, “If God guarantees the outcomes of my life, why do I need to do anything?”

I only have one reason - God has issued us His marching-orders and we must march. We must fully embrace the fact that He is our only hope but also that, somehow, He works through us to accomplish His plan for our lives:

·       Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:12-13)

We are to work out our salvation because we are convinced that we are following God’s lead. Mysterious? Yes, but I know that you already believe this. Let’s take the Scriptures, for example. We believe that they are entirely the product of God, breathed out by Him (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21), and yet we also recognize they are secondarily the product of man. Paul’s vocabulary, experiences, feelings, and associations are the fabric of Paul’s writings, as also is so in the other Epistles. Nevertheless, God was able to work through their human lives to produce something that is entirely His.

If this perplexing analysis is correct, it means that we are bound to accept both sets of truths about God and the steps He has ordained us to dance with Him, as we waltz our way together into our heavenly home.

How then are we to understand our role in regards to Covid-19? In two ways! We trust in our Lord without reservation as we follow Him with wisdom and prudence.