‘Spirit of love,’ plus faith and common sense, will help get us through this pandemic

There’s an old gospel song called, “God Will Make a Way.” I’m thinking about that.

One thing I like about God is that he’s always full of surprises. Even in dark moments, he seems to have secret, unforeseen plans to bless us and to bless others through us. God makes a way.

This past Sunday I preached to the biggest congregation I’ve ever spoken to. Without leaving my house.

Taking the advice of Gov. Andy Beshear and public health professionals (including a couple of professionals in my own family), I’d canceled the Sunday service at Bethesda Church, where I’m pastor.

After praying about it, reading everything about COVID-19 I could find and discussing the matter with various parishioners, I’d decided canceling was our wisest course.

We have numerous at-risk folks among us (including me). The coronavirus is highly contagious and is especially dangerous—even fatal—to those over 60 and those with compromised immune systems, diabetes and heart, lung or kidney diseases.

The governor took heat for asking churches to close, but I thought it was a logical and protective request. Thank you, sir.

After I’d announced the cancellation, somebody suggested we find a way for me to preach online, so that really hardcore church members could get their fix.

My wife Liz connected me through Facebook Live. At 11 a.m. on Sunday I delivered my first-ever video sermon, from my office at home, sitting behind my desk. (One jokester from my congregation asked whether I was wearing pants. Well, you’ll never know.)

Instead of preaching to maybe 50 adults at Bethesda—our children’s workers and kids worship separately—it turned out I delivered a message to, at latest Facebook count, over 1,500 viewers. The tally keeps going up. People who didn’t catch the sermon live are still watching the video.

The Lord made a new way. The Lord had a plan I hadn’t foreseen.

Sometimes what looks like a bad thing—shutting our church’s doors due to a pandemic, say—turns out to have some unexpected bright side. At Bethesda, we reluctantly closed down—and our congregation multiplied by a factor of 30. I didn’t see that coming.

That’s not to trivialize COVID-19. It’s done enormous damage here and abroad, and experts agree worse lies ahead. None of us knows whether we’ll catch it, or how sick we’ll get if we do. People are laid off. Medical personnel are stressed. The stock market has lost its mind. It’s bad.

Nonetheless, faith says God will make a way. Someway. Somehow.

Yes, I know. It’s reasonable to ask why, if God can redeem good from bad events, he doesn’t just stop the bad events to begin with. If he’s that powerful, why didn’t he prevent this coronavirus? Then, nobody would have to suffer.

Great question. I don’t know the answer. The mysteries of suffering and evil are as old as the book of Job. If you figure them out, let me know.

For the moment, I stand by my statement. Even in terrible situations, God remains present with us, working in ways large and small for our good and his glory.

Several people on social media, including David Ross, a buddy of mine from Owensboro, have in response to the coronavirus posted this passage from 2 Timothy: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

David pointed out a couple of things. One, God doesn’t want us to live in fear. And two, God has simultaneously given us sound minds. Don’t fret, but do use common sense.

Exactly right. Indeed, I think there are multiple points to be made from that verse:

▪ We’re to be people of faith, not people driven by fear. Anxiety shouldn’t become our habitual state of mind, even in a pandemic. We can instead look for God’s merciful hand surrounding us—and expect encouraging surprises.

▪ Also in that vein, God has given us power. Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled.” To some extent, fear is a choice. We have the power to not be derailed by it. We can resist the instinct to panic. We can trust the Lord.

▪ We’ve been given a spirit of love. In crises, we can manifest God’s compassion. We’re not to hoard. We’re not to barricade ourselves in bunkers. We’re to reach out. If we’re healthy, we can deliver food to an at-risk person. We can call those who are isolated and encourage them. We can resist going into crowded places where we might without knowing it pose a risk to those who are feebler.

▪ We can use sound judgment. Faith and common sense don’t contradict each other. Faith and common sense balance each other. We must take recommended measures to protect ourselves, such as avoiding crowds, washing our hands, not touching our faces. None of that shows a lack of faith. God gave us brains; he meant us to use them. Facts are facts; we shouldn’t deny them.

But amid the unknown and unpleasant, remain of good cheer. This pandemic, like all pandemics, will pass. God will still be God when it’s over.

Contributing columnist Paul Prather is a pastor at Bethesda Church in Mt. Sterling. He can be reached at pratpd@yahoo.com.