28 May 2020
“Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,
that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.”
Psalm 90:14
We can always start our day praising God – He is our light, our salvation and our refuge. Looking at the COVID-19 situation in Hong Kong we can give thanks for our seconds 14 consecutive days of no local infection. We can thank God for limiting the spread of the virus in Hong Kong, praise God for the gradual re-opening of schools and give thanks for the relaxing of some of the restrictions. But how keen are we to say “Thank you for the coronavirus”. I don’t want to say this loosely, I’m aware there are still high cases in some countries and there are many who have lost loved ones because of this crisis. However, COVID-19 has also been a wake up call for many of us. It revealed our human limitations and taught us what it really means to surrender to God. It is a humbling experience and a time to live out our faith
In one of my earlier devotions I suggested to use this time to practice your spiritual discipline. For myself I think it went relatively quite well. I spent more time in God’s words and when I realised how weak and powerless I am I became more prayerful, seeking God’s help rather than relying on my own. Now I’m not here to boast, quite the contrary I am having concerns. Now that the situation in Hong Kong has eased off and things are returning to “normal” it got me thinking, was the pre-COVID me really “normal”? Is that a way I want to be living? The distracted and self reliant me?
The past four months have been a tough battle but we managed to persevere and we all deserve a little pat on our backs. But don’t stop! Don’t think just because we trusted in God during this major world-wide crisis that we can stop working out of faith. When we are standing still, we are actually falling back. Paul tells us to press on!
“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3: 12-14
We all responded differently to the virus. If you did well, don’t let pride take over you and don’t be complacent. I recently saw a YouTube video of athletes that celebrated too early and relaxed before crossing the finish line which ended up with them losing first place. It was quite saddening to watch, but it was also a good reminder to see just how detrimental pride can be. On the flip side, some may feel guilty for lacking faith during the crisis, but don’t let that hold you back. Paul said forget what is behind and strain toward what is ahead. We should continue to seek God and have a desire to know Christ more intimately.
Although Paul said forget what is behind, there is one significant event that we can always look back to. That is the cross, the day Jesus took our sins as far as the east is from the west. On days when we feel weary or if we feel ashamed we can always look to the cross and remember we are made right with God on that day. When we wander too far from God, remember through Jesus the Way, the Truth and the Life we are reunited with God . This greatest gift, this joy given to us on the day on the cross is what motivates us to press on and strive to grow in our relationship with God. This coronavirus crisis had been a good reminder of God’s omnipotence and omniscience of God. He has delivered us from sin, delivered us from virus and will deliver us from what lies ahead. No matter what other storms we have to face, we can trust God and rejoice in the Lord.
And when there are no storms, don’t forget on our good days, that we still need God as desperately as we did on our bad days.
Anita Li
