LIVING IN A CORONA WORLD

In order to face times of great adversity, we need to be armed with the right beliefs. As an immature Christian, I hadn’t been. Instead, when I was faced with trials and infirmity, I took these as signs that God hated me. At least, He cared less for me than He did for the others in my church, who seemed to have it all together.

Of course, such beliefs are devastating, an extra blow on top of the original infirmity. Fortunately, I had no other place to turn apart from the Scriptures. In them, I began to see that suffering is to be expected, even among the righteous:

·       The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all. (Psalm 34:18-19  ESV)

Not only that, but God’s discipline is a sign of His love:

·       And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” (Hebrews 12:5-6; 1 Corinthians 10:12-13)

I also began to understand that our infirmities make us into the people that God wants us to be. They teach us to stop trusting in ourselves and to trust in God alone:

·       For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. (2 Corinthians 1:8-9; Psalm 62)

Looking back, I now realize I would have never learned to trust in Him without first having learned to distrust in myself. For this reason, I had to learn to see my weaknesses as a plus instead of a minus. Only in the midst of my failures, inadequacies, and infirmities would I cry out for His help and find it:

·       But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

It has taken me many years to learn this lesson, but He has taught me how to boast in my weaknesses and failures. It has become a joy to seek His glory instead of my own. I have also found that such boasting is a gift to others.

My weaknesses and inadequacies have also forced me to learn His Word:

·       Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word…It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes. The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces. (Psalm 119:67, 71-72)

I have also become convinced that these sufferings prepare us for His eternal glory:

·       So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

I must admit that it is hard to deal with aging, the “outer self…wasting away.” I know that I am not adequate to face these things or the trials that this corona world will thrust upon us, but I’ve learned to trust in the One who is adequate and loves us beyond anything we can imagine (Ephesians 3:17-19). Somehow, He will give those who trust in Him the wherewithal to stand in the face of adversity.