We've got this? No, He's got this!!

We are in the middle of a very strange time.
We are experiencing a pandemic.
There is a virus around that we don't know much about.
It attacks people and some get sick -- some are what they call "asymptomatic." We don't even know they are capable of spreading the virus.
Aftereffects? Consequences? We don't even know all of that yet.

It's an amazing testament to the resilience of the human spirit to see ordinary people rise to do good, to make a difference, in the midst of the uncertainty.
Teens gather and deliver groceries to elderly people so that they don't have to go out.
Citizens applaud doctors and nurses heading into hospitals and clinics.
Casual painters decorate the sidewalks with grateful messages to health care professionals, and youth groups hang posters of encouragement on overpasses.
Farmers whose fields are not yet prepared for planting head down the road to help plant at a neighbor's farm.

Over and over, from ordinary people to celebrities, you often hear the phrase, "We've got this!"
No problem with being cheerful and positive - glad to hear it! But there's just a small issue that I have with that phrase! It's not us who "have this."
It's God who "has this."
Today we are celebrating His Son rising in glory from the grave, fulfilling scripture. And one of the messages in the resurrection is that God the Father is in control! He's got this!
The virus is not in control.
The local or national governments are not in control.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11)

It's God Who is in control. Totally.

When the earth and all its people quake,    it is I who hold its pillars firm. (Psalm 75:3)

Don't you love that image in your mind when you read that verse? Our world may seem to be going crazy. We are cooped up and anxious that we might be sick. Was that the "cough" that means I have the virus? I do feel a bit warm.... be still. God is in control. He's holding up the pillars, making sure the walls stay up.
I find the words of Job to be appropriate for our study today:

“But ask the animals, and they will teach you,    or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you,    or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know    that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature    and the breath of all mankind. “To God belong wisdom and power;    counsel and understanding are his. (Job 12:7-10,13)

Job declares that it is almighty God Who is in charge of everything. God knows and understands how everything works and why it is happening. If He so chooses, He can undo human activities and dismantle human enterprises, and He can execute miracles. He ALONE is in full control....
Job is making clear that God alone is the One before Whom we should bow. We can echo Job's words in this time of crisis -- we can say that we don't know why people are suffering, but somehow the God of heaven is in control.
That is why we can cry out in victory as Job did:

I know that my redeemer lives,    and that in the end he will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed,    yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him    with my own eyes—I, and not another.    How my heart yearns within me! (Job 19:25-27)

Yes! Our Redeemer lives! He conquered the final enemy, death! We are delivered from the bondage of sin and death. Christ has set us free. He holds us in His hand. And He is in control!

He said He would rise again.. .. .. He is risen! Hallelujah!
Happy Easter!