“The pride of man is best seen in his determination to live by his own solutions in independence of God.”
Hampton J. Keathley, III,The Promise That God Cares
The topic points of this reading largely come from the above quoted book by Mr. Keathley. It’s amazing how the study of God’s word and the context within doesn’t know time limits and continues to hold just as true today.
There are a few verses out of 1 Peter that I would like to share that I believe apply to
today’s current world pandemic status.
1 Peter 5:6-7 (ESV)
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
1 Peter 1:6-9 (ESV)
In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
The times, our opinions, and our decisions are all questionable. A virus has plagued us which raises a few questions. How do we care for someone from a distance, and what is that proper distance, and can we close that distance anytime soon? Until recent times that concept hasn’t crossed many of our thought patterns. I remember while having the privilege to serve as an aircraft mechanic in a foreign land thinking to myself one evening, “I wonder if so and so is sleeping right now. It’s nearly time for their alarm to go off so they can get ready to go to school” or “I wonder if so and so is cruising the strip talking the same old lines to every girl that passes hoping one of them hasn’t ever heard it before” or “I wonder if so and so is looking at the same moon that I’m looking at right now.” Of course, if they were looking at the moon, well, they were looking at the same moon I was looking at, right? The point is this: God knew well before I was born that I would ask silly questions like “ I wonder…, “ yet He cares so deeply to place an anchor in orbit like the moon to bring comfort and peace to such silly questions. Oh, I’m sure there are plenty of scientists, realists, and so on that would say, “The moon’s purpose is…” and there is truth in that, and I appreciate their position; but, in that moment, nothing was more true than knowing that God cared enough to provide for the silliest of questions.
So, how do we care from a distance? How does God care from a distance? This is something we are trying to learn. Send a text, yes. Send a letter or a card, yes. Make a phone call, yes. Set up a Zoom meeting, yes. All are ways we may care from a distance and show someone God’s promises are enough. I would like to point out, however, that God’s caring from a distance, at least in my case, often appears to be one sided. He gives so much more. His giving from a distance spans a gap that you or I cannot fill, a distance that we create, and He provides the only solution for our need.
God Provides for All Our Needs
Matthew 6:25-34 (ESV)
Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or What shall we wear? For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
God Provides Through Prayer
Through Christ we have a clear line of communication to God the Father. God knows and cares for our needs before we ask (Matt. 6:32). He filled the gap. He died and defeated death so we could have direct access to Him so He could hear those needs.
Hebrews 4:16 (ESV)
Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
1 Peter 5:7 (ESV)
Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
Matthew 7:7-11 (ESV)
Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
So, why pray? If God knows our needs before we ask, then why doesn’t he just simply provide? We should pray because God has chosen to work in our lives through prayer. James tells us that the prayer of a righteous person accomplishes much.
James 5:16 (ESV)
…pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
- Prayer is a vehicle of fellowship.
- Prayer shows faith and a spirit of dependence.
- Prayer also helps us focus our hearts on the Lord, His purposes, and His care.
Yes, there is a virus, a pandemic, an important and non joking matter to address. It attacks and spreads from one community bubble to the next; but so does the antibody. By definition, antibodies are a protein that our bodies produce counteracting a specific antigen that the body recognizes as alien, such as bacteria,
viruses, and foreign substances in the blood. Prayer is that protein!
As I write, my family and I enjoy knowing that today we celebrate eighteen years of marriage and the blessing of a two-year-old little girl, who runs the house, BTW. None of this is possible without prayer, I can guarantee. So, why pray? Because God cares for you, your family, your marriage, your relationships, your situation, and our silly questions. Prayer will invoke action. “I wonder if…”
