Romans 8:31 – What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? (NIV)

Like many of my pastor peers, for the past year, I've been leading online services and preaching each week from my office desk. This pandemic has changed everything about church, and I now wonder: when all of this is over, what will the church become? I've seen many articles and even read a few books which speculate what will occur to our faith in the post-coronavirus world, but really, nobody knows. We have all been altered and may even be suffering from pandemic fatigue or post-Covid trauma. How that will affect our cherished beliefs, worship patterns, and church events is mostly unknown, so how can we hold on to our faith in a world which has changed its course?

At the end of my weekly 12-minute sermons, I quote today's verse from Romans, not because it's something that Paul wrote, but because John Calvin, the father of Presbyterianism, concluded his lectures and sermons with this verse. I reckon that if it were important to him during the upheaval of the Reformation, as well as during the plagues that ravaged his society, then it could help me and the people that I serve, too. It appears to have worked, both for me and the church folks, because in the midst of everything that is changing, the consistency of God's support is always there.

When this pandemic finally concludes, we will emerge as God's people once again and be given all sorts of opportunities to help our broken world. No matter what we face, we can be assured of this great thought: if God is for us, who can be against us?

Question for reflection: How have I experienced God being with me throughout this pandemic?

Prayer: Lord God, this has been a difficult year for many of us because of the challenges and restrictions that we have all faced. Prepare our hearts and minds for what lies ahead, and remind us that we are not alone. In Christ's name, we thankfully pray. Amen.

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About the author:

John Stuart <traqair@aol.com>
Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
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