The COVID-19 pandemic has left many of us with a great deal of uncertainty: uncertainty about how contagious the virus is and about the best way to treat it; uncertainty about how long our personal immunity will last after we get infected and whether a vaccine will ever be developed; uncertainty about the future of the economy and whether jobs will still be there for the millions of the newly unemployed; uncertainty about how long the public quarantines should continue; uncertainty about what will happen to ourselves, businesses, our families and our friends.

In the midst of so much uncertainty, we naturally look for something firm to hold onto.
Maybe we can take a cue from financial institutions. When uncertainty becomes too high, and lenders realize a potential borrower is at high risk of default, these institutions can sometimes turn to a higher authority, like the federal government, to “guarantee” a loan, as in the case of guaranteed student loans. Such loans offer a safety net and take away most risks for the lender.

What kind of higher authority should we be turning to in order to guarantee our future when we face so many uncertainties in life?

1. One lesson of the pandemic is not to place our hope in undeserving sources. Though scientists may promise new treatments, and politicians may promise safety through contact-tracing and lockdowns, these measures are merely stopgaps in the face of our larger human questions. Many centuries ago, King David mused about the false promise of earthly reassurances. Writing in Psalm 119, he declared, “Some trust in chariots or horses, but we in the name of the Lord. They will collapse and fall, but we shall hold and stand firm.” The answer to the uncertainties surrounding our human condition lies, precisely as David noted in God. He alone knows and understands every historical event, from pandemics such as COVID-19 to civil disturbances to economic collapses.

2. It’s also important for us to distinguish between true and false saviours. While a vaccine may limit the immediate threat from the coronavirus for us individually, death will still have its day and eventually lay its claim upon us. As natural as it may be for us to reach out for a vaccine to calm our fears and concerns and restore predictability to our future, only God opens a real path for us beyond fear and beyond death. Our lives are on loan, and only he can guarantee the fulfilment of that loan in a destiny that lies beyond this troubled world. He has.

We have an important opportunity to ponder these deeper lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic as it ravishes our world. Rather than placing our hopes in the limited promises of this world, the pandemic reminds us of our vulnerability and our need for a true Saviour , Jesus, very moment of our lives.