Coronavirus has made chaotic times even more so

Our lives have been disrupted by orders to stay home

We live in chaotic times…and the times have gotten even more chaotic with the arrival of COVID-19, the coronavirus.

Our lives are dramatically disrupted by the strong recommendations for seniors to stay home, everyone who can work from home to do so, by school closures, and the cancellations of so many enjoyable events.

Many have abandoned plans for travel; high school seniors are missing important senior year activities.

Faith communities, a key source of human connection, comfort, and hope, are suspending worship and other events…and we feel even more alone.

Beyond all of that is a deep concern for our health and the well-being of so many people we love.

Many of us are unnerved if not downright frightened by this coronavirus pandemic swirling around us, disrupting our lives.

Times like this always draw me back to Psalm 46 which reads in part, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam…. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.”

The first thing this psalm makes clear is that times of chaos are a part of life. This psalmist’s time had apparently turned chaotic…and it felt like mountains shaking and churning seas engulfing the world in watery chaos.

In the midst of that chaos and our chaos, this writer affirms that God is present, “our refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble.”

Whatever our personal experience of chaos in the midst of this outbreak, whatever our collective experience of chaos, we are not abandoned. God is with us.

But there is something more here. This psalm reminds us of the creation story in Genesis one. Genesis 1:2 describes what was there before God began creating as “a formless void.” The Hebrew words are tohu vo bohu — chaos.

What was there before God began creating was chaotic, churning water where life couldn’t get a foothold…and out of that chaos, God created a stunningly beautiful world of abundance which God called “very delightful.”

Genesis 1:2 says there was “a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.” Or it could be translated, “the Spirit of God swept over the face of waters.”

That same Spirit of God is sweeping over the chaos of our coronavirus infected world, and we can be confident that God is even now about the work of creating something new and beautiful even out of this chaotic, unnerving, and scary time.

Now, just because we can be confident God is with us and is creating something good and new out of this chaos doesn’t mean we take this virus lightly and get careless by continuing our normal routine.

It does mean we can be confident God is bringing about some good things… and maybe one of those good things is a renewed awareness that we are all connected and our wellbeing is all wrapped up with everyone else’s wellbeing.

In this time of social distancing (which I urge you to do), we can yet do a lot to keep us connected.

You’ve seen the Italians, quarantined in their homes, yet out on their balconies singing to each other.

You’ve seen, hopefully, the ten and six-year-old cellists sitting (10 feet away) on the porch of an elderly neighbor performing a personal concert for her, warming her heart, and putting a huge smile on her face.

You’ve seen or heard of all the people doing shopping for their senior citizen neighbors.

In our church, we have a five-year-old sending homemade cards via email to his church family.

Maybe this renewal of connection is the new creation God is doing even in the midst of the chaos of our coronavirus infected world.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble — even when the trouble is really chaotic. “The Lord of hosts is with us….”

May that word bring you peace and hope and lead you to love.