You say, “I am allowed to do anything,”—but not everything is good for you.” —1 Corinthians 10:23a
This is true. Both teachers and students love a snow day school cancellation. Hello, one-day vacation! Depending on the severity of the storm, perhaps it’s a two-day stay-at-home adventure! More thrills. Like fish and guests however, this is also true. Three days of being stuck inside and cabin fever is legit. We’re done.
Imagine what this coronavirus is going to do to us all. What will we learn? And what on earth are we going to do when in fulltime or quasi-quarantine we realize the words, “I am allowed to do anything,” aren’t so true anymore? We aren’t allowed to do certain things now.
Our powerlessness of the snow day makes us realize where the power is. Yet it hurts when we are told we can’t. It makes us angry that we don’t have control. Invariably, this points us to the One who is in control, God. Like children being told “no” when we seek a definite “yes,” we can extend our anger to God. There’s another option, though. Like Jesus on the cross, we can submit to God, and, in service, realize who we are—blades of fading grass—to an all-powerful, all-knowing God. Our not being allowed to do everything or have everything reminds us of what Jesus knew while hanging there. God is God. This realization doesn’t crush us; it sets us free.
PRAYER: Lord, we pray for You to guide those who will set us free from this crushing virus because we realize yet again that You are God, and in You all things are possible. Amen.