Certainty in the Resurrection of Christ
By Rev. Dr. Versey Althea Williams, Contributing Writer
Easter or Resurrection Sunday is usually a time of gathering, celebrating, and commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Living in the age of the coronavirus, the gatherings were hopefully few or none and Jesus still rose from the dead! As a pastoral caregiver in healthcare, most of us are not so afraid that we stop trying to cure or aid in healing but an elusive pestilence is scary.
The Good News is centered on the resurrection. I remind myself, pestilences are not a new phenomenon. COVID-19 is one that hasn’t happened in our lifetime; however, throughout the Old Testament, we learn about God and pestilences.
When tragedies happen and humans can’t immediately fix it, some of us try to make it a God thing. Some say COVID-19 is God’s punishment to the sinful world. I say when there is uncertainty—as it is with this coronavirus—we cling to certainty in Christ Jesus and follow precautions as given to us by the scientific and medical experts.
Unfortunately, this pandemic sometimes kills. Nevertheless, I invite you to cling to knowing for certain that the Earth is the Lord’s and everything in the Earth belongs to God. I believe that God is concerned about the pestilences that threaten God’s Earth and people (see Psalm 24).
COVID-19 raises many questions for us. One of them is if God is so good, why are God’s people dying so rapidly from COVID-19? The answer is because it is highly contagious. God can certainly, through social distancing and divine means, hide us from the virus.
My prayer is to survive this virus; but if I die, I am good to go. As God’s people, we can’t let Satan, or COVID-19, take our joy. The beauty of our sovereign God is that God is present and uses all resources to work in our behalf.
God is taking what Satan is doing and, through virtual churches, is drawing countless of people to our church buildings who would not otherwise do so. Remember, it is Satan who comes to kill, steal, and destroy.
During this time of uncertainty, we need to be mindful that we belong to God. Social distancing can’t stop the prayers of the righteous—us—from going forth and being answered by God. There is no distance in prayer.
God is everywhere and working in our behalf. God is still sending God’s word (Isaiah 55) through our prayers and aiding in the healing of those in need. Healing comes in a variety of ways and methods. With a pure heart, knowing God loves us and will honor our prayers, let us use this time of social distancing in quarantine to pray. Stand steadfast in your faith in Christ. In times of uncertainty, we have a certain God.
The Rev. Dr. Versey is a board-certified chaplain with the Association of Professional Chaplains and Certified Associate Educator with the Association of Clinical Pastoral Education, Inc. She is the CPE Program Director and Manager of Pastoral Care for Henry Ford Allegiance Health in Jackson, Michigan. She is on staff at Trinity AME Church in Lansing, Michigan, where the Rev. Lila Rose Martin is the pastor.
