He underestimated us.
In a breath laced with the scent of death, the Devil exhaled. Pandemic. Pandemonium. Chaos.
God looked down and whispered-
“but I’m still in control.”
That whisper- we couldn’t hear it, at first; amid the alarmist cries, the thunder of the assaulting storm. And the waves that kept on pounding, tidal waves they seemed; and we felt like we were drowning. Then the avalanche started, and the roar kept on advancing, heard around the world, and with it faith was crumbling.
Disorder. Chaos. Hopelessness.
The Devil- he thought he was winning.
By all outward accounts- it looked obvious he was winning.
This seemingly solidified when the blame and the anger and the furious screams of why and how began to echo across the abyss of a hurting, divided country.
Still, God calmly looked down.
And still He whispered,
“Be Still.”
And within the walls of our homes, we hugged our children.
We felt true fear and anxiety for ourselves and for those serving on the front lines- our first world country and our neatly decorated four walls couldn’t save us from our own feelings.
And so we prayed.
We learned what vulnerability meant.
What the word “need” truly means.
That this world is bigger than ourselves.
What it means to be a good neighbor. Friend. Citizen.
The tide began to shift.
The Devil- he began to worry.
From London, to Paris, to Madrid- as the Sun would fall, dusk began to light up with nightly cheers from balconies for all of the countries’ healthcare working heroes.
Neighbors pick up groceries and medicine for those at higher risk.
A group of children put on a concert for an elderly woman in quarantine.
Some NBA players reached out to pay local workers’ salaries for 30 days, whose jobs were put on hold.
Disneyland decided to donate excess to a food bank during the quarantine closure.
Complete strangers sent birthday cards, gifts, well wishes, and decorated the house of a healthcare worker sick and quarantined home with the virus.
God looked down and smiled.
The Devil scowled in frustration.
“Schools are still closed... “ he said.
“Hospitals are still overrun. They don’t have supplies. They don’t even have masks.”
“I’m still in control,” God whispers.
The Devil- he underestimated us.
Companies pull together- Ford, Tesla, GM- to start helping with mask and ventilator supply.
Handmade masks sewn with love began to show up in mass donation at hospitals- every stitch with prayer, love, and a hole in the Devil’s plan.
Families pulled together- structured lesson plans for some, others rediscovering the magic of imagination at play, all rediscovering and renewing bonds of joy in togetherness.
Social media was used as a mass educational power for good— teachers sent tools and lesson plans, moms shared in homeschool groups, and everyone realized how truly valuable our educators are; all of the hard work and love they give our children on a daily basis.
The Devil- he realized he was losing.
He is going to lose.
He was always going to lose.
We will make him lose.
We always have had victory in sight—
Because God has been whispering to us this entire time,
“I’m still in control.”
Be still- can you hear?
His whisper is in every sunrise, in every little act of kindness.
“He spreads out the northern skies over empty space; He suspends the earth over nothing. He wraps up the waters in his clouds, yet the clouds do not burst under their weight.
He covers the face of the full moon, spreading his clouds over it.
He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters for a boundary between light and darkness.
The pillars of the heavens quake, aghast at His rebuke.
By His power He churned up the sea; by His wisdom He cut Rahab to pieces.
By his breath the skies became fair; His hand pierced the gliding serpent.
And these are but the outer fringe of His works; how faint the whisper we hear of Him!
Who then can understand the thunder of His power?”
— JOB 26:7-14