Finding Peace in Pandemic By Russell Huizing
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s we come on a year of the Covid-19 pandemic, I suspect that we are all a bit fatigued by the impact that it has had on our lives. Whether through the piercing pain of a loved one who may have succumbed to its fatal touch or the numerous daily inconveniences that it continues to burden us with, we all want to get past it. And yet, while news is becoming more encouraging, here we are still under its grip. That realization causes in many a deep longing for a place where we can escape the restlessness that Covid-19 brings into our lives – we want a place of peace. Interestingly, Scripture will have nothing to do with stories that are uneventful or where everything goes well. Quite the contrary – the lives of Scripture are marked with sin, hatred, jealousy, greed, murder, lust, and a host of other sins mixed in with God’s love for His creatures. Each life then in Scripture becomes a story told by God with all the elements of reality that we are accustomed to. Dan Allender, in his book To Be Told, connects these stories with the pursuit of peace, or the Old Testament idea of peace called shalom. Allender says that all stories have four parts: Shalom, Shalom Shattered, Shalom Sought, and Denouement. We can see all four of these parts in the story of Joseph. In Genesis 37 we are introduced to Joseph who is living in shalom. Times of shalom are like the opening credits of a movie or the opening chapters of a book where everything is good, happy, and settled. In Joseph’s story, he is the favored son of his father, receiving all the love and attention that any son could want. Additionally, he is favored by God, who gives Joseph revelation through dreams and the ability to interpret the dreams of others. We see the same type of shalom described by God in Genesis 1 who looks over His whole creation and declares it very good. For Joseph, everything was very good. Shalom is shattered for Joseph by his 10 half-brothers, who are deeply jealous and resentful of the love and attention Joseph gets from their father. In a bitter rage, they take Joseph, throw him in a pit, and – over lunch – decide how they will kill him. Seeing an opportunity to get rid of him and make money doing so, they sell him off to slave merchants who are passing by. We often think of shalom being shattered by our circumstances not being the way we want. Yet in Genesis 2 and 3 we see the existence of loneliness and the presence of Satan and yet shalom had not been shattered yet. Shalom is shattered either by our own disobedience to God (like Adam and Eve being expelled from the Garden of Eden, Gen. 3) or experiencing the disobedience of others (like Cain killing Abel, Gen. 4). Joseph felt the impact of his brothers’ sin against him, which shattered his shalom. In Genesis 39-40, we see Joseph seeking shalom. He is sold to Potipher and becomes his favored servant. However, through the lie of Potipher’s wife, Joseph is thrown into prison. There he becomes the favored prisoner. However, even though he gives comfort and assistance
to Pharoah’s most trusted steward who is in prison along with him, the steward forgets Joseph when he is freed. Joseph goes from the favored son to the favored servant to the favored prisoner to just being forgotten. No matter how Joseph seeks shalom, he never seems able to find it. This is the story of much of the rest of the Old Testament after Genesis 3. It is often, especially in the midst of pandemic, where we find ourselves as well. The final part of any good story is denouement (day-noo-ma). It is a French term meaning ‘the loosening of the knot.’ It is the part at the end of the very best movies or the last page of the very best books where you take in a deep breath and let it out because the story has come to a good conclusion. Eventually, the steward remembers Joseph in prison, when it is advantageous to the himself (Gen. 41). Joseph is called before Pharaoh to interpret his dreams and so impresses Pharaoh with not only the interpretation but his wise advice, that Pharaoh makes Joseph second in command of Egypt. We might think this is Joseph’s denouement but the story has never been about his status – it has always been about his family. When his brothers come to Egypt and could easily have felt Joseph’s vengeance for what they did, they instead find grace (Gen. 42-50). Joseph was able to be gracious because he understood that he was not the author of his own story – God was the author. And despite all the suffering that Joseph went through, he knew that God could take all that was intended for evil and author it for good (Gen. 50:20). This authoring for good does not mean that the evil is ignored or forgotten. We see this in the life of Jesus. If there was ever a shalom shattered moment it is Jesus on the cross (John 19). His resurrection represents the start of His denouement – and yet, the marks on his hands, feet, and side remain in His resurrected body (John 20:27). In fact, the entirety of Scripture has been the story of Jesus. Shalom was created by Him in Genesis 1-2. Shalom is shattered in Genesis 3 and throughout the rest of Scripture to the resurrection of Jesus, shalom is being sought. However, with the resurrection, Jesus becomes the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). If we want His peace, then we must have faith in Him that He is the only one who can truly bring shalom into our lives (Romans 5:1). His rule of shalom culminates in Revelation 21-22 where we find that Jesus has created a new garden for us to be welcomed back into, a new city of peace – Jerusalem – that is from heaven, a place where there will be no more sorrow, tears, or death. On that day, God will write the very last page of your book and you will read that page and – with a deep breath – know it is a good ending. But, immediately, he will grab a new, blank book and begin writing your sequel – an eternal, unending, presence in shalom that will never be shattered. If you long for that type of peace in the midst of pandemic, it can begin through faith in Jesus.
Dr. Russell Huizing is the Interim Pastor at the Sky Valley Chapel, where the church is gathering in person with social distancing or can be viewed online at skyvalleychapel.com. He is also the Professor of Pastoral Ministry at Toccoa Falls College.
42 GML - April 2021
