Since the pandemic has come and reorganized how people live day by day, the dialogue between believers about God’s judgement being pronounced upon the nations, and this nation in particular, has been discussed with varying opinions.  The question at the center of the discussion is whether it is God’s judgement being implemented through the disease or not.  Personally, I don’t see it as judgement as much as I see it as God patiently using the virus as a wake-up call to men to turn from their self-oriented morality and powerless religious practices and seek the eternal God of the Bible.

We know that the Bible says in 1 Timothy 2:3-4, “This is good, and it pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.”  The character and nature of God is mercy, love, grace, and deliverance.  But He is also the righteous judge and His judgement is with condemnation and wrath.  The Bible says that believers and followers of Jesus experience trials and testing to develop their endurance and perseverance.  So how do we distinguish the difference between what might be judgement or what might be trial and testing?  God will do whatever He has determined to do with men to draw them to Himself.  He will do whatever He has determined to do to discipline and grow His children to be conformed to the image of His Son Jesus Christ as in Romans 8:29, “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;”.  In the OT God is constantly disciplining His chosen people when they rebelled and pursued other gods so that they would repent and return to their covenant relationship with God.  Listen to these words by the prophet in Jeremiah 2:13, “For my people have committed a double evil: They have abandoned Me, the fountain of living water, and dug cisterns for themselves – cracked cisterns that cannot hold water.”  When I first read this verse, I thought this was a picture of the U.S. today and our nation could easily find itself experiencing God’s judgement.  But looking again, it says, “For my people…”. I don’t know that the U.S. ever was a Christian nation, but it certainly has been a nation of Christians.  But those who are Christians have compromised through apathy and complacency the rightful rule of Jesus as Lord in our lives and communities, we have abandoned drinking only from God’s well, the fountain of living water, to find pseudo satisfaction from our own wells that are flawed and cannot hold water of any kind, especially the only water that can truly satisfy, Jesus the living water.  Will God judge men, yes, He will, and it will be righteous and just. But believers today need to hear a different wake-up call from our God, that calls us to return to His well of living water and drink from it only.  Even more so, we must leave the complacency of man’s twisted religiosity that is subtly becoming norm and return to an uncompromised holy relationship with God through Jesus.  I don’t think we are experiencing judgement, but judgement is coming.  We need to avoid the direction the Bible says people will go and are going, “But know this: Hard times will come in the last days.  For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, proud, demeaning, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, without love for what is good, traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to the form of godliness but denying its power.  Avoid these people.” 2 Tim. 3:1-5 God may be graciously disciplining His children to be His uncompromised people of truth and light to a nation that is going the wrong direction.