Where to Turn

A little over two weeks ago I thought that the response to the Corona virus was a huge overreaction. Shortly after that, I heard about what was going on in Italy. Then, just over a week ago, my Spring Break trip, my final Spring Break trip with Cru at CSU got cancelled. The next day, CSU made arrangements to go online for two weeks after Spring Break, and then the day after that Fossil Ridge High School – where I have been student teaching this semester, decided to go online for a week after Spring Break. I spent each class I had last Friday giving students the news and saying my goodbyes in case I never get to see them again. Then every single job fair got cancelled. Then two days ago, CSU announced that they are going online for the remainder of the semester, which likely means it is a matter of time before commencement gets cancelled. And then Cru announced that we would no longer have meetings for the remainder of the semester – which means I’ll never get to go to one again. Then last night, Jared Polis mandated that schools stay shut down until April 17^th. My last day of student teaching is the following Friday, April 24^th, so depending on what happens I may never see my students again.

This is all for the best and it is also changing the way I view God for the better.

I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t shed a few tears over my student teaching experience and final semester in college crashing and burning before my eyes. It really does suck. But it’s a tough time out there for everyone. Lots of people have lost their last semester in college, just like me. Lots of parents are now having to home school their kids and are struggling immensely. Lots of people have been sent home from their study abroad. Lots of people are unemployed and have no clue how they will pay rent. Lots of kids are trapped in homes with abusive family members. Lots of people are sick and lots of people are dying. Everyone is at least a little afraid – this really shows in the grocery stores. And in the stock market.

Right, so why is this all for the best again? And why is this changing the way I view God for the better again?

This is all for the best simply because the alternative is having even more people die. 2-3% of the population may not seem like that many, but that’s actually a staggering number, and one that will continue to rise as we run out of medical equipment. People in critical condition who could survive with a ventilator or other medical equipment could end up dying if we don’t have those kinds of resources to treat them. By engaging in this social distancing (the introvert in me is thrilled!), we slow down the rate at which people get infected, meaning we won’t run out of these resources as fast, and less people will die. If my not getting to complete college the way I wanted to or expected to can save thousands, even millions, I’d say it’s worth it.

But there were other repercussions I mentioned earlier on here as well such as increase in abuse and the economic issues that have already begun as employees get laid off and businesses begin to shut down. And all of this feeds into what appears to be a never-ending loop of fear. So how can I say that this destruction and darkness is worth it, or even go so far as to say it has altered my relationship with God for the better?

One reason I love history so much, is because it repeats itself. If we take the time to learn about the past, it can help us become better equipped for the future. Right now we are in the midst of something pretty scary, certainly. But this is not exactly the first time there has been a pandemic. There have been several over the years, with one of the more recent major ones occurring in 1918. This also is not exactly the first time there have been major economic hardships. Most people reading this probably remember The Great Recession in 2008. And people panicked during both of those, much like how people are panicking now. There have been larger past catastrophes in the past and people have bounced back, just as we will from this. Just like in those past catastrophes, we have an amazing God to rely on.

It might seem like an odd thing to say. Why would God allow things like this to happen? It’s a valid question and I can’t say I have much of an answer, but I do think situations like these ought to create a sense of humility. A virus just brought all of humanity to its knees. The things we think we deserve; graduations, sports, going out to eat, bowling, bars, etc. have been shut down. Just as God can provide us with amazing things, He can also take them away. In the Old Testament, people would often turn to things (and they aren’t always necessarily bad things) before turning to God and we often do the same today. Like I said, history repeats itself.

Most of the issues around this virus stem from how people are behaving and not from the virus itself. The virus doesn’t empty grocery stores of their toilet paper, people do. The virus doesn’t plummet the stock market, people do. Therefore, God is not the one causing all of this turmoil. The virus exposes us for who we really are; afraid, and that leads to some sinful actions. We need to see this as the time to turn back to Him with a heart that is grateful for what we do have. The darker a place is, the easier it is to see the light, just as the more we see the sinful nature of humanity, the easier it is to see why God sent Jesus down here to save us 2000 years ago.

I realize this is a controversial stance to take, but I will stand by it. I have struggled with anxiety all my life, so for me it has been interesting to see how people are reacting as they begin to experience emotions I have dealt with my entire life. I could choose to be angry at God for my anxiety but instead I choose to rely on him because I am unable to rely on just myself. In the New Testament, Paul begs God to rid him of his flaws, but God refuses.

“Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. ⁸ Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. ⁹ 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 about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” -2^nd Corinthians 12: 7-10.

This pandemic is not the first trial we have faced, and it won’t be the last. This also is not the first time we have seen massive amounts of sin, and it won’t be the last. As everything continues to unfold, we will probably see governments continue to fall short – after all, they are run by people. But we will also see God working through others in this time, like the stores that are providing shopping hours for the elderly, the doctors and nurses working day and night to look after others, and people like you and me sacrificing certain luxuries to protect others from getting sick. We don’t have shopping, restaurants, parties, or even in-person interactions to rely on anymore when we are afraid or upset. But pandemic or not, we always have God to turn to and that’s who we should be turning to first no matter what other lesser options we have. Years from now, this event will likely amass to being no more than a paragraph in a high school history textbook, just like how we view the Spanish flu which was far more deadly. But I hope that you can use this to change your perspective on what we shouldn’t be taking for granted and exactly who we should be relying on.

If you’re intrigued by this post and looking forward to what I’ll write about in the future, you can expect a new post at some point in the future. Also, if you feel inclined, feel free to leave a comment below about what you think. Thanks for all your support and I hope you’ll come back the next time I post. Stay Amazing!