The past few months have been momentous and unprecedented in many ways, as COVID-19 has plunged not just our nation, but the world, into a season fraught with uncertainty. Things we counted on, things we assumed, things we’re accustomed to, things we’ve always taken for granted, are suddenly gone without warning in the interest of “flattening the curve” and protecting valuable, vulnerable lives. 

Things have changed in so many ways over such a short period of time, and change can often be hard and frightening. It is especially so when we have no idea how long our lives will be altered by the coronavirus, nor what the new normal in the aftermath of the crisis will be. In the face of such uncertainty, we may wonder, “Why is this happening?” 

Of course I can’t pretend to know the answer to that question, but I can say that it’s been in the midst of having so much that I held dear - and was even tempted to base my identity on – stripped away, that I’ve been forced to look up and recognize afresh the greatness, the sovereignty, the unchangeableness of God, and I have to believe that He is using this season to reveal more of Himself to me.

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, thought the mountains quake at its swelling pride.” (Psalm 46:1-3)

Because of WHO God is, we don’t have to fear. Even in the face of uncertainty and disappointment, discomfort and danger, He tells us not to be afraid because of His character. Even if everything around us seems to be falling apart, He is steadfast and in control.

As many of us are self-isolating or have lost loved ones, we desperately need for the all-consuming love of the Friend who sticks closer than a brother, the One who has promised NEVER to leave nor forsake us. Realizing anew that no matter how much we love or are loved by others, they cannot always be there for us or with us teaches us to say with the Psalmist: 

“Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (Psalm 73: 25-26)

With so many of the normal, temporal distractions removed from our lives, perhaps you, like me, are coming to realize at a deeper level that knowing Jesus really is the greater thing… the greatest thing.

“But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own, derived from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.” (Phil. 3: 7-11)

Is our connection with Him so central and such an all-consuming passion in our hearts and lives? Have we come to say with the Psalmist, “But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all Your works.” (Psalm 73:28)

I pray we will all treasure the nearness of our gracious God more earnestly because of this season. I pray we will learn at a deeper level what it means to run into Him for refuge and to find shelter in His everlasting arms. And I pray that the natural outflow of our deepening, abiding relationship with Christ is that we too are compelled to tell others about the Source of our confidence and comfort.

Written by a GFM Richmond staff member