Nothing is outside of God’s sovereign control. Whether it’s COVID, cancer, or any other trial, nothing takes God by surprise. Anchor yourself in his Word, and keep trusting him through your hardships. His everlasting arms will hold you up!
Visit joniradio.org to request a copy of John Piper's book.
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada with a special book I’d like to give you today.
I am a huge fan of John Piper; I devour everything and anything he writes. Especially on the topic of suffering. Because we would all agree there is so much heartache, so many hardships right now – all of which seem to overrun our lives. I’m thinking of my friend, Louise, who is still struggling, still feeling the repercussions when she became ill with COVID more than a year ago. And another friend, Phoebe, who is still having heart and kidney issues due to her battle against COVID early last year.
They call it “long COVID,” and hundreds of thousands of people are affected by it. This post-COVID condition may show itself through shortness of breath, brain fog, fatigue. And those are just the mild symptoms. Other symptoms include chest pain, anxiety, muscle aches, loss of smell, taste, and I could go on. Experts are not clear on how long this condition may last, but if you talked to Louise or Phoebe, they would just sigh and say, “Who knows?!” Look, you may have this condition, and you would say the same!
But I love Louise’s response to long COVID. Because although she feels broken, she is finding such comfort in the Word of God. Just ask her. She looks at Jacob, okay, broken and defeated with his hip out of joint. And she looks at the poor widow in Elijah’s day who broke the seal on her little pot of oil. She finds encouragement from Mary in the New Testament who broke her alabaster box of perfume. Louise is convinced that as she trusts God in her brokenness – like Jacob, like the widow, like Mary – somehow, someway she will receive a blessing. Sure, her shortness of breath and brain fog has her emotionally out on the ledge at times, but she has tempered her response with Scripture, knowing that underneath that ledge are God’s everlasting arms, ready to catch her should she fall from lack of strength.
And you know what? You can trust in God’s everlasting arms, as well, because we have a sovereign Lord who controls – get this – every single atom in the universe; not a one of them can wander astray from his overarching decrees. And this means he controls the extent to which this virus impacts all of us. Nothing takes God by surprise; nothing blindside him or catches him off guard. You can look at COVID that way when you trust the full extent of God’s dominion over everything. Even a virus.
So if you are struggling with COVID, or someone very near and dear to you maybe passed away from this strange and dangerous virus; or if you are a long-hauler, as they say, you can benefit, you can be helped, honestly, you can be blessed by John Piper’s excellent little book called “Coronavirus and Christ.” It’s classic Piper, given that he takes the reader deep into the Word of God and gives anchors of hope and encouragement, strengthening you to face any hardship. And you can get your own copy at joniradio.org. Ask for your gift, “Coronavirus and Christ.” I have read it, and man, I’ve been blessed by it, and I highly recommend it if you are struggling to trust God in hard times. John Piper’s book is yours for the asking, so go to joniradio.org and be blessed, be inspired, and best of all, be instructed by one of America’s premier theologians on the goodness of God and our overwhelming hardships. Hardships like COVID. Get your copy today, would you, at joniradio.org. Thanks for joining me for Joni and Friends!
© Joni and Friends