We hear about it all the time. It’s on the news, in our group chats, on social media, and in our everyday conversations. Coronavirus has rapidly become an ever-present invisible force in our lives that has swept across the entire world, and despite being sequestered away from one another in our own home, it has pushed us together into a global solidarity that unites us all. We see the effects of this all around us, from the event cancellations and donning of masks, to the lives lost and the economic downfall, and it makes this invisible virus seem all the more real to us. 

But there is another ever-present invisible force in our lives that has not only swept across the entire world, but actually created it. God carefully crafted every single person that lives on this planet, including the healthcare heroes that we applaud as they walk out their front doors, the essential personnel who provide us with the resources we need to get through each day, the scientists who are studying this outbreak meticulously, the press who brings the latest updates to us, and the officials who gather all of the information to make decisions that will keep our communities safe.

God has always used ordinary people to carry out His extraordinary plan. He told Noah to build an ark to save themselves and the animals instead of just speaking an ark into existence. Before a huge famine, God sent Joseph a dream that led him to store up food that would tide the population over for 7 years. In Egypt, He instructed the Israelites to paint their doorposts with the blood of a lamb so their firstborn sons would be spared during the first Passover. After the Exodus, when the Israelites were bitten by snakes in the wilderness, they were told to look to Moses’ staff and they would be healed. Naaman was a leper and searched the world for a cure, but was only healed when his servant told him of God’s prophet Elisha, who told him to bathe in the Jordan seven times to be cleansed.

Having faith in God our Healer doesn’t mean we can just sit back and do nothing. Just as God asked all of those biblical heroes to take a step in faith by taking action, we as believers are expected to do the same in the midst of this pandemic. As followers of Christ, we are called to honor and respect the decisions of those who in leadership (Romans 13: 1-7), which means following the shelter-in-place guidelines and wearing masks when required. We are commanded to love our neighbor (Mark 12:31), which means taking the necessary precautions not just for ourselves, but for those around us who may be in at-risk populations. And above all, be a source of encouragement and hope for those in your community (1 Thessalonians 5:11). Even though it is safer not to physically go to church or social gatherings, attending church or bible studies online and calling up friends can be a wonderful way of honoring God and His call for believers.

These are trying times that we are living in, and it is more important than ever to put our faith in God, the only constant in a rapidly changing world. Honoring His commands and adhering to the guidelines of those that the Lord has put in places of authority can be our “step of faith” that will slow the spread and bring healing.