Article: God’s help is always there for those who trust in God | Jacob Varghese

I have never been through something like this earlier. This moment is unlike anything that most of us have ever experienced. On Thursday, April 15, 2021 I had been diagnosed as Covid Positive. Covid taught me to understand what does it mean to be in isolation? I was cut off from one another, passing my days in varying degrees of isolation. Though I found how caring and loving my family and friends around are. My mobile did not stop ringing for some time. There were prayers, advises, offers to help me and much more. Rushing for tests and finally being admitted to hospital. It was so comforting to know that there are still people who are willing to take risk for others. I know many are suffering right now because of the corona virus pandemic. It leads to the disruption of our normal life patterns, relationships and or even economic distress. As I was sick and fearful of how I would face all these, I have also been grieving for lost loved ones. These experiences of suffering are, of course, not new and such suffering goes on all around us. Whenever we endure suffering we need others to love and care for us; a network of good and strong relationships around us. How are we to think about all this? And what’s a Christian way of understanding our suffering?
There are things like sickness, plague, and death. It’s broken because of human sin. Bible clearly highlights the connection between sin, suffering, and death. And sin doesn’t just affect us as individuals. It impacts everything including social structures and, in our case, the creation itself. As Christians we have hope but this doesn’t take away the pain of our current suffering, but it does give us comfort and encouragement. When God’s kingdom comes to earth all things will be made new. There will be a new heaven and a new earth. This is when “God will wipe away every tear from our eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore.” We look forward to this in hope. Our suffering is temporary, but our blessings will be much greater and eternal. Paul, a man who knew about suffering mentions in Romans 8:18, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

There is a new world coming and we as children of God have a part in it. Even though we cannot always understand our suffering or explain it, by faith we know that God is working in our lives and we know that God’s promises are true and we can have joy in Him. While I was in my suffering with Covid I could see unexpected ways God worked in the crisis. I welcomed the time of isolation as a time of much required rest and to refocus on what is most important in my life- that is to spend time with God in prayer and to connect more deeply with the people in my life. Life is short and human lives are fragile, but we need to understand that we are all the same and every life is important. So in the midst of this, I experienced God is so close and is our refuge in the midst of the storms and the misfortunes that we face. Loving and caring for others is the fundamental evidence of our faith. We as Christians live with the hope of a better world yet to come. This does not mean that in the present we do not worry about having a better world for all but we also wait for the second coming of Jesus where we will finally enjoy the fullness of life that God wants for all of us.
This Covid-19 pandemic situation – which has led each of us to several unprecedented changes in spiritual, physical, mental and social realms – has affected people and environment around the world but taught me that God is always there in our midst both in good and bad times. We are assured that God will never leave us nor forsake us. We just need to submit all our worries, cares unto God. God’s help is always there for those who trust in God. Even though we will continue to suffer in various ways, Christians can experience victory in the midst of it. Paul says in Romans 8:35-37, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, ‘For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”

JACOB VARGHESE

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