Where would the world be if it was not for God? Well, I suppose the easy answer to that is that it would not be. After all, God created it – in fact He created the whole universe.

But where would it be if He had created it and then stepped back and let nature and humanity have free rein?

Yes, we have free will. And sometimes that free will gets us into a lot of trouble. And sometimes it may save our lives. The pandemic is a case in point. We have the choice, in democratic countries, to go out or stay in; to wear a mask or not; to stay away from others or ignore the advice we are given. Sometimes that does not lead to any problems. Sometimes it does.

We look at these things, as people who inhabit the earth and ask, how could God let such things as a pandemic happen, when it is causing so much suffering and hardship.

But, then it has occurred to me that we have no idea how much God stops. And we don’t know what He stops.

Could it be that He watches an asteroid the size of the one that wiped out the dinosaurs heading towards earth, and gently nudges it off course so it misses us? Could it be that He has prevented other pandemics at other times and that this, for some reason (maybe to draw people closer to Him) has been allowed to occur? Could it be that He is using it to bring families together, even online, to turn people to Him in desperate times, to heal broken relationships as people realise the importance of family and friends rather than other things to which they have been giving priority.

Could it be He knew the earth needed a space, a breather, to heal for a while?

I do not believe God inflicted this pandemic upon us. That’s not what I am saying. But I do believe that He can use even this. After all He holds every universe – every one – in the palm of His hand. He holds the names of His people – the name of each one of us who follows Him – in the palm of His hand. Surely then, He holds even a minute virus, as devastating as it is, in the palm of His hand too.

He is in control. As hard as that may be to believe at this point in time, especially if you do not believe in Him, I know that God is in control.

We do not know how he is tempering this virus to make it less evil than it could be. We do not know how He is touching lives through it. But He is.

This post did not turn out as I thought it would – as I intended it to be. Could it be that God took my thoughts, my fingers, my computer and turned them into a message you need to hear today?

God is in control. Even now. Even here. And for always.

Some Scriptures to consider:

Isaiah 49:16 ‘See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;‘

Psalm 147:4 He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.

Isaiah 55:8-9 ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’

Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.