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Pastor Stan tackles the question, how can God be good and still allow COVID-19? He draws his answer from Romans 11:33-36:

“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
“For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?”
“Or who has given a gift to him
that he might be repaid?”
For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.”

Transcript

Good morning Crown & Joy family! Welcome to the second to what I am calling Coronavirus Devos.

I’ve been looking at many passages about God and he’s relationship to the world.  God is the Creator (Gen 1-2), it’s Witness (Luke 12:6), the Sustainer (Heb 1:3) and Intervener (Psalm 113).  

His actions toward the earth are governed by his goodness, sovereignty, wisdom, pleasure and love. So why do we have COVID-19 ravaging the earth?  Does the intersection of his sovereignty and love reveal a being who has a double personality – specifically Dissociative Identity Disorder?  Is it possible that God cannot be both sovereign and loving or both all-powerful and only good in the presence of COVID-19? 

Well, the problem here is not with an infinite God; the problem is with finiteness of humanity. Paul sums it up very well. He says,

“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! [34] “For who has known the mind of the LORD? Or who has become His counselor?” [35] “Or who has first given to Him and it shall be repaid to him?” [36] For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.” (We find this in Romans 11:33-36)

Wow. Paul, that is something.

But Pau isn’t the only one floored by God’s greatness and our own finiteness.  After Job’s encounter with God, he said, “Yo!  I thought I knew what was up with you, God!  But now it’s like I’m hearing about you for the first time in my life!”  You have to remember; he says this after struggling for a while with the loss of his children, his financial situation and his health.  

Now, for us this means we may not be able to figure out what God is up to either, while this thing rages on worldwide.  But one thing we can be sure of – whatever it is, it will end and prove to be an expression of his goodness and his love. After all God so loved the world in the first place, that some 2,000 years ago he gave his only Son to die, HIS only Son to die, so that whoever would put their faith in him instead anything in this temporal world will not ultimately perish, but have everlasting life.

Thank you for listening.