Daly Focus Blog
Should God receive credit for the turning of the tide of the coronavirus global pandemic?
Not according to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Speaking earlier this week, the Empire State’s chief executive, who is Catholic, was blunt:
“The number is down because we brought the number down,” he told reporters. “God did not do that. Faith did not do that. Destiny did not do that. A lot of pain and suffering did that…That’s how it works. It’s math.
We’re
several weeks into the coronavirus outbreak, and by now you’ve memorized a
dozen methods for keeping your body’s immune system strong.
But what are
you doing to keep your marriage strong?
When we’re
stressed, we strike out at the people closest to us, namely our spouse and children.
That’s especially true when you’re cooped up together under quarantine. Good
marriages can be strained, and bad marriages can be stressed to their breaking
point.
A couple’s
differences can either serve as triggers for conflict or as points of tension that
can strengthen the relationship.
Words matter.
Every year contains its share of popular terms and catch phrases, words uttered and written so often that they become part of the national vernacular. In the build-up to President Donald Trump’s impeachment in 2019, it was “quid pro quo” – a Latin phrase that means, basically, a favor for a favor.
In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, everyone from the president of the United States down to local community leaders have made “social distancing” the latest household phrase, and with the very best of intentions.
Since the outbreak and escalation of the coronavirus pandemic in March, pastors and faith leaders throughout the United States have cooperated with local and state officials in doing their part to “flatten the curve” of the pathogen by either canceling or transitioning in-person church services to online platforms.
For anyone born over the course of the last one-hundred years, the changes in weekly worship habits have been unprecedented. In fact, church services during the Spanish flu epidemic between 1918 and 1920 carried on as usual – for good or bad.
A
lot of people wonder, “Can God truly be good, even when He allows pain and
suffering in my life?”
That
question deserves a serious, thoughtful answer. To that end, we’ve invited Dr.
Larry Crabb to join us on our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Trusting God When We Don’t Understand His Ways.”
Dr.
Crabb is author of the book When God’s
Ways Make No Sense. He has some
timely thoughts about how faith can anchor our lives in the midst of uncertainty.
Charles Dickens got it exactly right in the opening sentences of A Tale of Two Cities. He said, “It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. It was the age of wisdom. It was the age of foolishness.”
Those iconic words were written over 150 years ago. They could have been written this morning. Or 1,000 years ago.
Civilizations rise and fall, but every generation faces the same fundamental paradoxes: Love and hate.
On the 100th day of the COVID-19 global pandemic, I would offer to you that the world has learned a few lessons.
This list is hardly exhaustive, but it’s nevertheless irrefutable – at least from my perspective:
1. We are not in control. God is.
2. Humans are frail, fragile – and resilient.
3. Because of sin, bad things happen to everyone.
4. No matter how dark the night, the sun rises in the morning.
5.
Do you and your family find yourselves watching more movies and television these days?
If so, please don’t forget to check out Focus on the Family’s new streaming service, Focus@Home.We’re adding new content every day, including some wonderful special material for Easter from our friend Ray Vander Laan, perhaps best known for his teaching in our rich and meaningful series, That the World May Know.
We’ve also added The Truth Project, our award-winning Christian worldview series from Dr.
Although Wall Street’s rout seems to have stabilized in recent days since the first surge of coronavirus cases, the volatility of the financial markets is nevertheless unprecedented in modern times.
Your perspective of this last month may mirror the late President Reagan’s witty observation of long ago:
“Recession is when your neighbor loses his job,” he once remarked. “Depression is when you lose yours.”
Economic experts are working feverishly to stabilize the markets. Part of the emergency relief plan involves stimulus checks for families – funds that should be received in the coming weeks.
Fortunately,
I got out of it. Not because I outsmarted anybody, but because somebody showed
me grace when I deserved judgment.
My final
year of high school I worked for a produce company in southern California. One
day my boss had me tag along with one of the truck drivers. We drove for hours
to drop off a load of potatoes, only to discover when we got there that all of
the workers had gone on strike.
Jim Daly is a husband, father and President of Focus on the Family and host of its National Radio Hall of Fame broadcast. His blog, Daly Focus, is full of timely commentary and wisdom designed to help you navigate and understand today’s culture. His latest book is Marriage Done Right.
