Perhaps you are to the point that every time you hear the words corona or covid, panic grips your heart. We have gone in the last 3 weeks from awareness to panic. Every media outlet is bombarding us with updates on outbreak or breakdowns. From epidemics to economic, there seems to be little relief. However, in the midst of all of this, could there be opportunity? I believe there is.
Dead ends are prime opportunities for resurrections. God has this paradoxical way of taking our darkest moments and extracting the greatest light. That sounds cliche but if you have ever encountered even a glimpse of the God of the Bible, then you witness a God who does His best work when things look hopeless. Maybe, you are not there and all of this supports your skepticism about a God of the Bible or even the existence of God. Even if you are willing to entertain the idea of a God, then you would certainly not easily be persuaded that He is good. I’d like to share a few thoughts to hopefully encourage you and bring at least a little relief.
First, look further ahead. That sounds strange but to navigate difficult moments like these, we must be able to see further down the road. For those in Christ we know that things will not always be this way so this temporary suffering pales in comparison to the joy that is to be revealed. (Romans 8:18). Even if you questions the claims of Christianity, we all know what it feels like to long for things to get better. Hope has a way of making the most difficult of circumstances bearable. Where is your hope?
Second, look behind you. Our past moments of joy should give us encouragement when facing present moments of sorrow. God’s faithfulness in your past is a reminder that He can keep you in the present. The difficulty you have faced in the past, should give you courage to endure what you have to face in the present.
Finally, look to do good. I am amazed that even bad people, want to sometimes do good. We can disagree on a lot of things, but good is good. There is always an opportunity to do good. Good is not limited by race, religions, class or education. Doing good is available to all of us. However, as a follower of Christ, I know that God is working all things together for my good (Romans 8:28). That greatest good is that I might reflect Christ more to His creation. That will look differently for each one of us. It can be as simple as grabbing an extra roll of tissue for a neighbor or sending a meal through Uber Eats. Good is good.
All of this is an opportunity for God to open us up to His love and desire for relationship with His creation. Maybe that is hard for you to imagine because of your past mistakes or you feel God has disappointed you too many times in the past. Where ever you find yourself on the spectrum, this is the truth of Scripture: God really hates sin and at the same time really loves sinners. I’d love to jump on a Zoom call to unpack that or just listen as you wrestle through the truth of these claims. Email info@themidtownbridge.com and we can work to set something up. Regardless, how you might at least see that buried under all of this chaos, is a glimmer of opportunity.
