In America we are not used to going through a time of trouble similar to the Coronavirus Crisis. Unlike European countries and Asian countries, we have not been bombed in wars. We have had a few terrorist attacks, but nothing like our European friends faced in World War II. President Bush declared a “war on terrorism” a few years ago, and now President Trump has declared he is a “war-time” president as we battle the coronavirus pandemic.
This war against this virus has disrupted our lives. We are not used to this. It has affected every church. We cannot gather for worship. Never have we faced anything like this in America. We are not used to war-time on our soil. The legendary missionary, Otto Koning, lived as a child in Amsterdam in the Netherlands during World War II. Night after night German planes bombed the city. Otto, then about 10, said each day they would get up and go see whose houses were still standing. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones was pastor of Westminster Chapel during World War II. Early in the war German planes bombed London for 57 consecutive nights. There were times during Sunday worship services when the air-raid sirens would go off, and everyone would run from the church. Churches were destroyed. No less than 260 churches were ruined or damaged. Famous churches like City Temple and Spurgeon’s Tabernacle were completely leveled. People fled the city because of the bombing. Lloyd-Jones kept holding worship services, but he watched his crowd drop from 1,500 to 300, then 200, and finally no more than 100 attending on Sundays. Weekday meetings were cancelled entirely.
And of course, after the war, London rebuilt, and the people returned to church.
So, we are going through a difficult time. We have been fortunate not to face such crises in the past. This crisis will pass. We will defeat this enemy. And hopefully we will have a minimum of such crises in the future.
We must have faith to believe that God will bring us through this Coronavirus Crisis. In the Bible, Psalm 18:2-3 says, “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies.”
Pastor Jim
