Will my conference be cancelled?” “Will my 401(k) recover from the stock market crash?” “Will I come down with this new virus?” “Should I do X or Y in the face of so many unknowns?” These and hundreds of similar questions dominate thoughts and conversations as global panic spreads faster than the actual coronavirus pandemic. Fear is the operative word behind many of the decisions being made. As I write this, there are too many unknowns to truly evaluate what is prudent and what is a rash overreaction. Though stockpiling three years’ worth of toilet paper probably falls in the latter category— time will tell.
That is the funny thing about time—as it passes, our vision becomes clearer. Approaching events begin to come into focus until finally the future becomes the past, and the saying is confirmed, “Hindsight is 20/20.” Fortunately, there is someone who sees the future with clear-sighted accuracy. God knows what will happen two weeks, two months, and two years from now. He is not perplexed. He is not ruffled, flustered or upset. He does not operate in panic mode but continues to sit in the calm of eternity as “an ever-present help in time of trouble” (Ps 49:1). God is not taken by surprise. As the prophecies in Matthew 24, James 5, and Revelation 13 and 17 are fulfilled, it will be shown that not only does God know the future, but He has known it all along and has revealed clear milestones for us along with certain actionables at each waymarker.
Psalm 43:5 repeats the words of Psalm 42:11: “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God.” What is true about depression, sadness and discouragement is also true about fear. If the verse were written today in the climate of the daily news, it might read, “Why is my heart racing with fear? Hope in God.”
It is in times like these that the “exceeding great and precious promises” of the Bible show their true luster. Faith clings to the sure word of scripture as we learn to wait patiently on God. Hope, joy, and growing love come from that word. It’s what the world needs in these times of uncertainty.
What exactly will the world look like post-coronavirus? What will our mission in Thailand be like then? The words of the gospel song resonate in my heart: “I don’t know about tomorrow, but I know who holds my hand.”
