We’re now about a month into the shelter-in-place lifestyle imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and by now there is considerable agreement that the “Great Pause”, as some call it, has been a time for humble soul-searching, seeking God and fervent prayer for Christians. It is hoped that for most, God has been restored to His preeminent place in the hearts and homes of those who profess Christ, and not just for the duration of the crisis, but permanently. This is what God calls His people to do in response to a pestilence or trial of like nature. To do anything less would be downright irresponsible. This is what makes the Great Pause both an opportunity and a responsibility: to listen to God, to consider our ways and to purge from our personal and ecclesiastical lives what doesn’t belong there.
But what about our lives once the pandemic has subsided? What will our world look like? Are we prepared to thrive spiritually, emotionally and practically in a society that has been jarred loose from its customs and norms and is looking for a new normal?
Has the world just made a giant leap towards the climax of the End Times, with its trials and tribulations and its movement toward a world government under an antichrist?
The answer is of course: yes, we have. Though how big of a leap, and what will unfold, is far from clear. I believe we will only know in part because God wants us to hold tightly onto Him, stay close, listen, and let Him guide us along the winding, bumpy road toward the final triumph over sin and evil, and a new heaven and earth. That’s why He has jarred us awake – to call us to pray, set our minds on Him, and return Him to the center of our lives instead of off to the side.
Against the backdrop of that crucial spiritual principle, I would like to highlight a couple of warning signals that are emerging in the responses we’ve seen to the corona pandemic, and offer some suggestions for prayerful preparedness – without trying to speculate too much on what is going to happen over the next few months.
Warning Signals
From different news sources around the world, as well as spiritually insightful commentaries from credible spiritual leaders, some troubling things have emerged that we need to pay attention to.
- China’s agenda. It is an open secret now that China is trying to gain world domination, economically and otherwise. Our government is now even investigating credible reports that the novel coronavirus originated from a research lab in Wuhan that did dangerous research on viruses in bats in order to compete with the US in virology and epidemiology.
– Though manufacturing has declined, and in some case been redirected to other countries due to coronavirus shutdowns, China is still the leading manufacturer of consumer goods.
– They are the premier lender to other nations. They own large portions of our national debt. A reportsurfaced that Ecuador has sold 8 million of its Amazon Rain forest to Chinese oil companies to satisfy a 7-billion-dollar debt. Is China set to collect on the indebtedness of the nations when they default on loans?
– The Chinese government has stepped up its persecution of Christian churches, removing crosses and other symbols and forcing them to be replaced with communist symbols. World domination on any level by a blatantly anti-Christian government is not a good thing. - Government overreach in the US. Numerous reports are surfacing of overreach by state and local governments in response to the pandemic that have put our constitutional freedoms on trial.
– In some states, the governor has determined what goods you can and cannot buy.
– In some local jurisdictions, churches have been prosecuted for holding corona-safe drive-in services.
– In NYC, the mayor has openly threatened to shut down churches and synagogues permanently if they don’t comply with his limits on public assembly.
Can constitutional freedoms now be suspended and even permanently limited under “state of emergency” declarations and national crises? Are we giving up our individual freedoms to serve national security? That debate came up after 9/11. It is here again, but to a greater degree. - GPS tracking. Some 19 countries are experimenting with GPS tracking on people’s cellphones to try and trace the spread of the coronavirus. The Dutch government is poised to pass a law allowing the use of apps “for the duration of the pandemic” and with restrictions in place on the use of the data. But when is the pandemic actually ending, especially when fears are arising in infectious diseases scientific circles that it may be an annual occurrence? We just got one step closer to governments being able to track its citizens anywhere they go. Nothing new – just one step closer.
- Immunization. Intercessors for America fears that “immunization badges” are going to be a new prerequisite for getting a job. In other words, a plausible outcome of the crisis is that it becomes a legal requirement to get immunized. Without it, you couldn’t get a job anywhere because you become a potential carrier of the virus. Potentially more government overreach.
- Economic crises. Already, the news headlines are full of impending economic woes, and the stock markets have responded accordingly. Owning investment accounts kinda feels like building a bonfire with dollar bills now.
– Twenty-two million Americans are now out of work, which translates roughly to 10% of
the population. They have lost a major part of their buying power, and their ability to repay
debt. And personal debt is what our economy has run on for decades, with the average
household debt standing at just over $137,000.
– The pandemic stimulus packages have added $2.2 trillion to our national debt, which
stood at $23.3 trillion in February of 2020. About 70% of that is owned by the Federal
Reserve, the Government and private lenders, with China owning about $1.07 trillion. That
is debt, which all has to be repaid. That has to come from somewhere and so we are
facing the real possibility of steep tax increases and/or cuts in federally funded programs
like Social Security, Medicare and Defense. A debt loaded on our future generations.
You’re welcome.
– Economic downturn. At the moment the US government is optimistic about “restarting
the economy.” But comparisons with previous economic crises suggest it will take time.
The 2008 housing crises took a full year to peak an another two years for recovery. It
remains to be seen how many businesses we lose, how many airlines, car dealerships,
transportation companies, the USPS and a host of other services will have to be bailed
out or go bankrupt, and as a result how many people will be out of work long term and
default on loans, causing strain on the banks. The Payroll Protection Program, a federally
funded Small Business loan program aimed at keeping companies of fewer than 500
employees from going bankrupt, has already run out of money. - Gaslighting. “Gaslighting” is a term used for messing with someone’s mind, like marketing. An insightful young independent film maker wrote an article on the dangers of seeing gaslighting as a way to restore normalcy in our society. The hawking of an endless array of “must-haves” to try and convince people to buy, buy, buy in order to come out of the crisis in good shape. Which would signify a return to the way things used to be – and what got us further and further away from being a godly nation to begin with. Precisely what we don’t want. And precisely what God doesn’t want.
- Mental Health and Violence. The Department of Homeland Security issued a caution to churches that they may become “soft targets” for acts of violence once social distancing is lifted and people begin to act out their anger and frustration with losing jobs and economic uncertainty. In addition, mental health professionals and addiction recovery centers are bracing for an unprecedented flood of people needing help with severe depression, anxiety, substance abuse and domestic abuse in the wake of the pandemic.
Be prepared!
Depressed by all this? I hope not! Sure, this mess is way bigger than we are, but our God is bigger! As long as we stay close to Him, we will make it through just fine. Not only will we survive, we will thrive, and be vessels for His glory to those who have no hope. And there are more than ever before thanks to tis pandemic.
Alarmed? I hope so! There are plenty of warnings in Scripture that admonish us to be vigilant and alert, which begins by being alarmed:
“But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.” Luke 21:36
“Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.” Romans 13:11
“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.” Colossians 4:2
“For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.” 1 Thessalonians 5:5,6
So how do we prepare for these uncertain times when the warning signals are ominous, but we don’t know for sure what will unfold? Let me suggest seven areas for your prayerful consideration.
- Make prayer central in our homes. The apostles, and Jesus Himself, warned repeatedly of trials and tribulations to come. And the admonition was always the same: be watchful and pray. For that reason we must:
– Make God uppermost in our hearts and minds, and the way we live at home.
– Learn from Peter. Take our eyes of the wind and waves of troubling circumstances and fix
them firmly on Jesus. Let knowing God for Himself, more than for what He can do for you,
be your focal point and delight. Everything else will fall into place. (Matthew 6:33)
– Immerse yourself in Scripture and listen to what God has to say to you. The Word is living,
it will renew your mind, dispel lies and fears and set you free to have hope and joy in Him.
– Be careful to not let the pandemic be your only motive for prayer. Once it’s over you will
stop praying and put God back on the shelf for the next crisis. We are a forgetful people. - Make prayer central in our churches. Prayerful homes beget prayerful churches. The opposite is also true: prayerless homes make prayerless churches. Jesus has clearly stated that God’s purpose for the temple, as a central meeting place for believers is that: “My house shall be a house of prayer for the nations.” (Isaiah 56:7, Matthew 21:13)
C.H. Spurgeon once remarked that the spiritual health of the church is not measured on Sunday mornings but on Wednesday nights – at the prayer meetings.
– Give congregational prayer a central place in the Sunday morning worship
– Saturate every Board meeting, every committee meeting, every program, every home
fellowship, with reverent, listening prayer. (Acts 2:42) - Be intercessors. Pray unitedly and fervently for the community and the world in the absolute conviction that God has ordained to work mightily through the prayers of His people, and to forsake them is to limit God. It is our duty as His royal priesthood (! Peter 1:9)
– Listen to the Lord as to what and how He wants you to pray.
– Learn to depend on the Holy Spirit to guide you in your prayers. - Keep online connectivity in place. One of the great things that has come out of the coronavirus pandemic has been that we were able to keep worshipping, preaching, praying and sharing through online media. The Pax Romana of today’s world! Since experts and world governments have already warned us that such pandemics are likely to reoccur, we would do well to keep that connectivity in place and get really good at it. I encourage every believer, especially “digital immigrants” like myself, who did not grow up with this technology, to be intentional about learning how to use Skype, Zoom, conference calls, Facetime, and what have you.
Jennifer and I were part of an online Zoom service on Easter morning that connected believers from 20 different cities from Australia to the Dominican Republic. The global sense of unity and solidarity in Christ was awesome! It should of course never replace meeting in person. But it sure is a good way to continue being the Church across the globe when the buildings are closed. - Strengthen our community bonds. The early believers were known for sharing their resources and having everything in common (Acts 2:44, 45; 4:32-35). There may be a time when that becomes very necessary. The time to abandon American individualism and pride of possessions, and learn to share, is now. Our fast-paced, hasty, money-driven, superficial culture has invaded our church culture, and so our bonds as believers are by-and-large not strong. You can’t truly love someone in a hurry, so we must slow down, simplify our lives, and rediscover doing spiritual life together.
- Be prepared to share your faith. Revival is happening. A recent survey showed that 44% of Americans who would normally not darken the door of a church are now reading Scripture and praying regularly. 8% stated that up to that point they had considered themselves to be atheists. When something bigger than ourselves hits us, we become fearful and start to think about needing help from above. So more people around us than ever before may be searching. And since this is a global pandemic, that same openness may benefit the advance of the gospel elsewhere in the world.
– Let’s be prepared to share the gospel of Christ with the scared, the broken, the seeking.
There are plenty of simple tools online if you don’t really know how to frame the gospel
message.
– Be intentional about taking the gospel to every tribe and nation, “to the ends of the earth”.
With just under 3,200 unreached people groups this task is finishable in our generation.
Operation World is a great tool to pray for the advance of the gospel in every nation. So
pray, give, go if you can. - Beware of false gospels. What Dr. John MacArthur calls pagan religionism – the preaching of a gospel that promises wealth and success from the hands of a god who only wants you to have your best possible life in this world – is alive and well. I won’t name names, but one of the biggest proponents had an online Easter service that was watched by 11.7 million people. A God who wants to solve all your problems is a popular concept. Hence the success. But beware. In this gospel there is no room for sin, struggle, suffering, poverty or adversity. Its proponents live in mansions and fly in private jets. But their appeal in times of crisis is strong and leads millions astray into thinking that if God loves them He will not allow problems or suffering in their lives, and that there is no need for repentance and surrender to access the wealth that God has. He’ll just bring a “reversal.”
Such gospels will abound more and more as predicted by Jesus and the Apostles (Matthew 24:11, 2 Timothy 4:3). All the more reason to stay the course, to know Scripture, to listen closely to the Father, to be watchful and pray.
The bottom line is: Take stock of what we have learned together, what God has shown you personally, and don’t let go of it. Persevere in faith. Persevere in your intimacy with God. Persevere in your fellowship with believers. Persevere in outreach and mission.
Along with the troublesome, some good things are coming out of the coronavirus crisis. Perhaps we will be more health conscious, cleaner. Perhaps we will value personal contact more than we have. Perhaps we will learn to live with less. Perhaps we will slow down and simplify our lives.
Let us never go back to the “normal” from before. It is what led us further and further astray from being a nation under God, and being a Church on fire for Him and in whom God is well pleased.
Making America Great Again should perhaps be changed to Making America Great in God’s Eyes Again. Being a nation united under God. Surrendered to God. Where God is not optional but uppermost in our hearts, homes, churches, and society. Pie-in-the-sky? Perhaps. The Bible speaks more about divisions, lawlessness and a great apostasy in the end-times than a great revival. But we can be watchful, awake, listen to God, and pray on behalf of a nation that has gone astray. Whether or not they are the prayers of Abraham for Sodom and Gomorra doesn’t matter. We pray – and leave the rest to God.