When life looks like it is spiralling out of control; things like the pandemic that is currently sweeping across the whole world, it can be hard to believe that God is still in control – but He is.
God is the Creator of the universe and He promises in His Word, that He will be there to the end.
Isaiah 41:4 it says “Who has controlled history from the beginning? I, the Lord am the one. I was here at the beginning and I will be here when all things are finished.”
When you are in the middle of a world-wide pandemic, it is hard to see beyond it, but many such things have swept the world before and eventually, they have all come to an end and life has gone on.
There has been other pandemics, such as the Spanish Flu, polio, Swine Flu and Ebola.
There have been other significant and tragic events such as World War 1, World War 2, the Great Depression of the 1930’s, the global recession of 2008.
There have been devastating fires, floods, earthquakes and hurricanes.
In each of these events, eventually they all came to an end and people could begin to re-build their lives.
In the Bible in Psalm 90:4 it says:
“To You a thousand years are like a day that has just gone by.”
When we are in the middle of these hard times, it feels like they will never end, but to God, it is just like a day or a few hours. He knows the end from the beginning.
This is when it is so critical to exercise our faith in our loving, all powerful God.
We need to walk by faith, not by sight
(2 Corinthians 5:7).
In Isaiah 41:9-10, God says:
“I have chosen you, and I have not turned against you. So do not worry, for I am with you. Do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will make you strong and help you. I will support you with my right hand that saves you.”
And in Isaiah 41:13 God brings us further comfort:
“I am the Lord your God. I am holding your right hand. And I tell you ‘Don’t be afraid. I will help you.’”
In Isaiah 41:17-20 it says:
“17 The poor and needy people look for water.
But they can’t find any.
Their tongues are dry with thirst.
But I, the Lord, will answer their prayers.
I, the God of Israel, will not leave them to die.
18 I will make rivers flow on the dry hills.
I will make springs of water flow through the valleys.
I will change the desert into a lake of water.
I will change the dry land into springs of water.
19 I will make trees grow in the desert.
There will be cedars, acacia, myrtle and olive trees.
I will put pine, fir and cypress trees
growing together in the desert.
20 People will see these things and understand.
Together they will think carefully about these things.
They will know that the Lord’s power did this.
They will know that the Holy One of Israel made these things.”
In other words, God can, and will, bless His people right in the middle of their hard times.
Even in Jeremiah 29:11, where God says:
“For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans to prosper and not to harm you; plans to give you hope and a future”.
Many people don’t realise that when God brought this encouraging and hope-filled news to His people, they still had to go through 70 years of being held captive in a foreign country.
But God promised that at the end of the 70 years, it would finally be over and they could come home and that their future would be good.
He encouraged them to make the most of the current situation.
Earlier, in that same chapter, in Jeremiah 29:5-7 God says:
“5 Build houses and make your homes there. Plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Get married. Have sons and daughters. Find wives for your sons. Give your daughters to be married. Then they too can have sons and daughters. Let there be many more of you and not fewer. 7 Also work for the success of the city I have sent you to. Pray to the Lord for that city. If it succeeds, you too will enjoy success.”
Right in the middle of their captivity, God tells them to move forward with their lives.
God did the same with Joseph. Right in the middle of Joseph’s captivity and when he went on to be in prison, God was with him the whole time and blessed him with favour and success, even when Joseph’s future looked very bleak indeed.
Joseph realised later on, after he was made ruler of Egypt that God had been there the whole time. God had brought him through these hard times for a purpose – to save millions of lives during the famine. God had used his time in captivity to train Joseph for leadership.
God is always working on behalf of His people; no matter what it looks like.
So take heart. Instead of trying to look through the fog ahead of you, look up and see the loving face of God assuring you that He is with you right now, in the middle of the trial and He will bring you safely through.
