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A Season of Pioneering
God’s Purpose in the Pandemic
A Season of Pioneering
by Dr. Wayne Cordeiro
One of the most frequently asked questions I receive is “What is God’s purpose in this pandemic?” We search for a meaning to gives us the hope and strength we need to outlast this restrictive season that’s filled with unanswered issues.
Victor Frankl, the Jewish psychologist and holocaust survivor, said: “He who has a ‘why’ to live for can bear almost any ‘how’.” In other words, humans are driven by meaning and we need purpose. Frankl reminds us that our lives are filled with meaning especially in the midst of suffering. He said: “In some ways, suffering ceases to be suffering the moment it finds a meaning.”
So, we ask God, “Why?”
No one really knows why God allowed this virus and its consequences to ravage our globe. We can conjecture, discuss conspiracy theories, but like the catastrophic 9/11 event, we can’t change what has happened. However, we must survive it and move forward! The event will pass, but we must remain and we must rise above it.
Here are three possible ways to find meaning in the pandemic:
The pandemic leads us to put our trust in Jesus alone. When we are in favored seasons of prosperity and comfort, we don’t realize how much we put our trust in things smaller than Jesus. We lean on our careers, our bank accounts, our friends and our health. But now we realize that we can only trust in what cannot be taken from us. We learn to put our trust in Jesus alone.
The pandemic has rearranged our priorities. Life before the pandemic found us busy with the things of everyday life: our jobs, personal interests, and hobbies. But now, in the midst of the confinement and restrictions, we discover a renewed value for family, friends and God.
The pandemic has rearranged our priorities.
The pandemic exposes our weakness as well as the greatness of God. We each have the tendency to reduce the reality of death and our limited mortality to the outer reaches of our consideration, but now, we realize that our life here on earth is fleeting. We only go around once, and with each Covid death, we are reminded that one day, we too will be counted.
As we celebrate Easter, we find a renewed sense of meaning in Christ alone. Join us at New Hope Christian College’s lab church, New Hope West (NewHopeWest.com) at 9 & 11 am every Sunday morning. Find out how God uses each season for one purpose: to bring us closer to His purposes … not for the pandemic, but for you and me!
