Truth: God is not the author of COVID-19 and the pandemic. He is not the source of it.
But even though God is not the source, He nevertheless would use it for His glory and for the benefit of His people. The Bible teaches that while Satan and his cohorts attempt to use such attacks and adversities against God’s own, Satan and his cohorts cannot and will not be successful in their attempts in any way. (Isaiah 54:17)
During any test or any trial, every sincere believer must ask these questions: What is this purpose? What am I to learn from this?
Why? Because faith untested cannot be trusted. Thus, all tests and trials, and all temptations are designed to strengthen our faith, not destroy our faith. Ultimately, for those who love God and are called according to His purpose, even a pandemic would cause Kingdom advancement and bring glory to God. (Romans 8:28)
So what is God using during this period of time?
Purifying and Pruning the Church
God is preparing the church to receive His glory and the greater things that are yet to come. With this, several things have been prophetically happening in the body of Christ:
- Wheat separated from the tares
- Sheep separated from the goats
- True separated from false
- Wise separated from the foolish
God has been doing a work of purifying His people and purifying His church. He is removing what needs to be removed and cutting off what needs to be cut off. Remember, God doesn’t need big numbers to do big things. God has been purging and pruning, but He is ready to do something big. This last year, if you’ve been listening, one of the things God is doing in our lives is cleaning things up and clearing things out. God is getting something out of our lives that are not beneficial and helping us in prioritizing these things. Why? Because God wants to do great things in us and through us. And He does not permit mixture and divided loyalty. He wants fidelity and undivided loyalty.
Making Use of the Small Things
God, despite the odds that we face, is always bigger than the odds in our lives. He can use even the things that the enemy tries to use against us and turn it into good so that it can bring Him further glory. There are many examples in the Bible of how God uses the seemingly small and inadequate to bring about His great plans and purposes.
Gideon felt completely inadequate to do what God was calling him.
Joseph was a teenager when he had two big dreams.
Abraham was an old man but he still had a son.
Moses only had a staff and he stretched it and the Red Sea parted.
David had a harp and a slingshot and it brought down a giant.
Esther had beauty and grace and God used her to save His people.
A little boy had two fishes and five loaves but God multiplied it and fed a multitude.
What small things God has put in our hands, He is going to use for great things and for His glory. God really cares about us and God knows what He is doing. God keeps His promises. (Hebrews 10:23) Remember that you are not alone. You are not abandoned. You are not alienated. God does not need the majority. He just needs the faithful and the available. God wants to do something big through something small. He wants to use you and whatever you have to do great things that will give Him glory.
Though odds may be stacked against us in life, always bear in mind that God is bigger than any of those odds. We turn to God and believe that our future can be greater than our past. There may be big odds but we are not afraid or worried because we have a big God.
