A common belief held by many Christians is that God allows bad things to happen in order to get people’s attention so they turn to Him. A famous Christian minister recently made this statement about the Corona Virus. This belief is so prevalent that it has become engrained in the psyche of many believers.
But is it true?
Not exactly. The answer is a bit nuanced so I want to use this article to explain how the kingdom of God and our king, Jesus, operate. I believe when you understand what I’m about to teach about the authority God gives people it will change how you see God, how you see yourself, and the way you do life.
Let’s start by looking at two apparently contradictory verses on this subject and I’ll explain how they fit together. They are Psalm 24:1 and Psalm 115:16.
Psalm 24:1 The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness,the world and those who dwell therein.
Psalm 115:16 The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s; but the earth He has given to the children of men.
Psalm 24:1 says the earth and everything in it belong to God. Psalm 115:16, however, says He has given the earth to mankind.
So which is it? Does earth belong to God or mankind? The answer is yes. Let me explain.
God owns the earth and all that is in it, but He has made humans the stewards over the earth. As stewards it is our responsibility to take care of the earth and everything in it. God has given us His word and Holy Spirit to tell us how to do this.
It’s very similar to the way I can own a house and choose to lease it to someone else. Once my renter moves in, the house is subject to their authority. I can state in the lease that I want them to take care of it, not use it as a place of illegal activity, and contact me if there are any major issues with the home.
I own the house, but my renter has a free will and they can ultimately do anything they want in the house . If they start using the home as a place to sell drugs and let prostitutes conduct their business, did I allow it?
Tricky question isn’t it? I expressed my will in the lease agreement I made with them, but they had the right to do what they wanted in the house. Ultimately they violated my will.
In a sense, God leased the earth to mankind when He put Adam and Eve in the garden. He expressed His will for the earth to them through His word. He told them to fill the earth with sons and daughters made in His image, subdue the earth, and take dominion over the animals (Genesis 1:28). He also told them not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Adam and Eve knew God’s will, yet they chose to disobey God in the garden. They didn’t take authority over the serpent who was filled by Satan. Instead they listened to him and ate of the tree of the knowledge of good in evil. Did God allow that? Yep.
Why? He had given mankind authority in the earth and He would have had to violate His word to take it back. In a sense He would have had to illegally break the lease on the earth He made with man when He gave them dominion in the earth. For more on this concept, check out this audio message and this video teaching.
The good news is one day, the lease God made with humanity will come to an end and He will return and make everything right. That time just hasn’t come yet, but praise Jesus He’s coming back one day!
With that foundation laid, I’d like to address the statement about whether God allowed the Corona Virus to draw people to Himself. He allowed it because He gave us a stewardship on the earth and He allows what we allow. With that said, virus and sickness go against His nature. He is Jehovah Ralph, the Lord that heals. In order for God to put sickness on people, He’d have to change his name!
At the time of this writing, it is not completely clear how this virus began. It’s possible it was created by evil people in a lab. It’s also possible it came through the negligence of people selling animals infected with the Corona Virus in densely packed markets which spread the disease to humans. Either way, the virus is the responsibility of mankind, not God. It’s our fault, not God’s.
I know when I write an article like this and say the Corona Virus is the responsibility of mankind and not God, it can bring feelings of guilt and shame to some people. Some people will choose to reject what I’m saying because of those feelings of guilt.
I’d encourage you not to reject the truth because of feelings of guilt. Running from truth because of shame doesn’t empower you to bring change. God’s not stressed out because mankind messed up and introduced the Corona Virus into the earth. He always has the solution before we create a problem. Think about, Jesus was the lamb slain from the foundation of the earth. God had the answer to the sin problem before man sinned.
Once you accept the truth that mankind is responsible for the cause of the problem, we can then embrace the truth that God will help us bring an end to the problem. One of the best ways we can do this is by praying. Matthew 6:10 says to pray your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. When we take our authority and pray, we invite God into our circumstances to bring wholeness and restoration.
There are many other steps we can take such as scientists coming up with a vaccine, people not congregating so we minimize the spread of germs, and proclaiming the gospel so people hear about God’s will to heal and protect. These are just a few things we can do. The entire list is exhaustive.
I’d encourage you to seek God and find out what your part is. I’d also encourage you to put the word of God in you and begin to walk in your identity as a son or daughter of the King and begin to exercise your authority to be a change agent on the earth.
Thank God He’s a good God and He didn’t cause or allow the Corona Virus to teach us something! He wants you to see Him as He really is and not an idolatrous version of Himself man has created in their own fallen image. For more on that, check out this message, my friend Max Cornell taught at Grace Life Church.
Most importantly, thank God that He will take what the enemy meant for evil and turn it for good! Pray with me, people use this time of uncertainty to to turn to Jesus and respond to the voice of Jesus so He can draw them to Himself.
2 Responses
Why would the Lord think it would be acceptable for us to social distance and wear mask this brings fear? Fear brings doubt. The reason why they want us to wear mask and social distance is they say people could have the virus and not even know it. Does not showing any symptoms make sense? If we allow fear then we can be used by satan which will stop you from doing the will of the Lord and can lead to destruction. When you put a covering over your mouth and nose you do not breath correctly so I would not say this would be acceptable to God. When Jesus left He says I am leaving but the prince of the world will stay but do not fear because I have overcome the world. The Lord commands us not to Fear so many times in the Bible and says to tell the enemy to flee and he shall flee. God did not create the corona virus. The Lord says only good comes from above. He did not give us the spirit of fear but a spirit of a sound mind. This earth has been given to us from God so it is up to us to choose evil or good but we are being used by The Holy Spirit. Jesus says go out there to share the gospel, lay hands on the sick and watch them recover. We are in a spiritual battle that is why we need to use the sword of the spirit and show others how good God is. The Lord says do not walk by flesh but by the Spirit. The Lord says we are not dealing with flesh and blood but spiritual wickedness so germs are not the issue. We should focus on the Spiritual then the natural. We are not of the world but we are in the world. If I focus on spiritual then natural then I lose my focus on what is going on in the world around me so it leads me to a direction where I am call by my Heavenly Father. There is a lot of distractions that satan is used by men so this brings lies and it leads to kill, steal and destroy. What I mean by distractions is to twist Gods words.
Thanks Alyssa. I absolutely agree with you on an individual basis. I personally know the word of God and I’m not worried about getting sick from Covid. It is important to realize that not every Christian is where I am though. The Bible talks about weaker brothers and sisters in 2 Corinthians 8. They come to church, small groups, etc. and for them that takes a lot of courage. Many of them don’t know all of the promises about healing/divine protection and for them social distancing and wearing masks is wise. God will meet them according to their faith.It’s a complicated issue. There are Christians who think churches who meet right now are evil because we are putting people’s lives at risk. This is where we all have to be led by the spirit of God. I personally have chosen the same example as Andrew Wommack and observe some of the CDC recommendations like using hand sanitizer and social distancing at church; not for myself but for weaker brothers and sisters. I don’t want to use my liberty to put a stumbling block in front of them and then they are offended at me before they hear the message I bring.