Coronavirus. It’s amazing how much fear and panic have been caused by that one word.
I write this blog weekly to give updates about movements of God in America and beyond. Occasionally, I’ll also comment on events of our day that could pave the way for or hinder movements of God.
If it’s hard to understand what connection the coronavirus could have to revival, a history lesson may help.
During the early days of Christianity, there were three great plagues in the Roman empire. Each one of those plagues coincided with the most rapid growth of the church, both in numbers and in spiritual power.
How does that even make sense? Well, Christians of that day literally followed Jesus and lived out Matthew 25:31-40. They treated sick people as if they were treating Jesus!
While the Roman pagans ran away from the sick, Christians ran to them. As a result, massive numbers of people came to faith in Christ. They saw something real. It was real in the worst of times.
Around 250 A.D., during a plague in which 5,000 a day were dying, Cyprian, a bishop in North Africa, described the disease in detail. It is horrible to read.
But then, without any break, he immediately called the church to rejoice and embrace an opportunity they had never had before. Listen to his words:
What a grandeur of spirit it is to struggle with all the powers of an unshaken mind against so many onsets of devastation and death! what sublimity, to stand erect amid the desolation of the human race, and not to lie prostrate with those who have no hope in God; but rather to rejoice, and to embrace the benefit of the occasion; that in thus bravely showing forth our faith, and by suffering endured, going forward to Christ by the narrow way that Christ trod, we may receive the reward of His life and faith according to His own judgment!
Could God be giving us a similar opportunity today?
At the time I write this, it doesn’t look like the coronavirus will be anything like the plague of Cyprian. But whether it is or not, we have a tremendous chance right now to pave the way for movements of God.
How do we do this?
The world is afraid. Let’s show them how believers face fear.
“Fear not” is the most repeated command in the Bible. So in fearful times, let’s ask the Spirit of God to help us live out this determination from His Word:
When I am afraid,
I will trust in you.
In God, whose word I praise,
In God I trust; I will not be afraid.
(Psalm 56:3-4 CSB)
The world is running away from the suffering. So as Christians, let’s run toward it! Let the world see us bearing one another’s burdens and, if given the opportunity, let them see us care for the sick. Let’s love more than we fear.
Perhaps the most important question each one of us can ask about all this is, “Is my faith real enough for times like these?”
If not, God is waiting to revive us. He is calling us to a faith that is fit for hard times. Hear Him and say yes to that call. Yes changes everything!
John Avant
President, Life Action