Trish didn’t mean that the world was ending, she just meant that there have been shutdowns all over the world. Even so, I walked out of Costco with Trish thinking to myself how thankful I am that in Christ I have certainty when the world has none. In Christ, I know that the true end of this world will only happen when the trumpets sound the great day of his return. In Christ, I know that with every step I take in this time of pandemic, I am a child of God and in his eternal care. These are but a few of the thoughts that are filling my mind right now.

If you are a Christian, I hope that this crisis is having the same effect for you. It should be. So often when I read the Psalms, I find that crises and threat from enemies constantly result in pointing the Psalmists to turn to God and meditate on him. When David is in the wilderness, he turns to God (Psalm 63). When his enemies are closing in on him, he turns to God (Psalm 3). When Asaph can’t understand the worldly success of wicked men, he turns to God (Psalm 73). When David is in the depths of sorrow and sadness, he turns to God (Psalm 13), When the nations have defiled God’s temple, Asaph turns to God (Psalm 79). These are but a few examples of a great host of Psalms that show that for God’s covenant people, one of the main results of tribulation is that we turn to God.

Brothers and Sisters, isn’t it a good thing to turn to God? Would you be thinking as much about your hope in him if there was no pandemic? Would you be meditating on the certainty of the cross if there was no mortality rate? Would you be anticipating the glory of a new creation if there was no wilderness? Would you turn to God as much if there was no trouble?

I am not joyful at the death of others. Nor do I have some morbid delight in the spread of sickness. This is a world filled with the consequence of original sin and it saddens me. At the same time, I am thankful that pandemics push me closer to Jesus. How about you?