Why Did God Allow the Coronavirus?

Why Did God Allow the Coronavirus?
 
Why would God allow such a terrible disease to become a pandemic? If God has the power to stop it then why wouldn’t He? That is a top question people are asking at this moment and have always asked during trying times. Of course only the answer from the Bible is the one we are concerned about. This is a smaller inquiry into a bigger subject of the problem of evil. This article is only going to scratch the surface in answering that question. This will only focus on this particular virus and how it relates to God’s plan and purposes.
 
Right up front we must use caution in trying to offer any insights into answering this question because it can feel insensitive to anyone who have been affected by this virus. Please know that if you have suffered because of the coronavirus, that I am deeply sorry for your experience and prayerfully empathize with you. The Apostle Paul said, “Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15). We need to offer consolation and sympathies to anyone and everyone we come in contact with at this time.
 
In attempting to answer this from the Bible we also have to understand that God does not have to give us every specific answer to satisfy our curiosity. God never answered Job’s plea to give him an answer. In all that God said in His speeches to Job, He made no reference to Job’s troubles or to the reason why Job was suffering. Rather God demonstrated to Job and to all of us that He is the sovereign, all-powerful, all-knowing and every-where present Creator and sustainer of the universe and leaves the answer there. Even so God can still be trusted in the midst of suffering and pain (Job 13:15).
 
This first thing to say is that we live in a seriously broken world (Ecclesiastes 1:15). Originally the creation was “good” and God was pleased with it (Genesis 1:25). But the entire world was affected when Adam and Even choose to rebel against God. When this first sin happened, not only did it break humanities relationship with God, but everyone thereafter was born with a sin nature and in bondage to sin (Psalm 51:5; Ephesians 2:1). On top of that that first sin caused the physical universe to be cursed (Genesis 3:17-18). The Apostle Paul tells us that the creation “groans” and awaits to be restored one day (Romans 8:19-20). Quite literally, sin has ravaged everything! We Christians should not be surprised by the brokenness of the world, including the existence and spread of deadly viruses.
 
The reality of that matter is that viruses have always existed since the creation of the world. Christian scientists believe this is so since viruses are necessary for life on earth. However, deadly viruses did not exist prior to the events of Genesis chapter 3, those only came after the Fall. It is like water was God’s good creation; but the flood was the result of sin. Same thing with viruses. The coronavirus is a natural evil coming from a cursed universe, but under God’s providential control. The Bible is crystal clear that the root of all sinister human pain and suffering in the world is due to the disobedience of our first parents.
 
In the meantime, God allows suffering and evil to draw us to eternal things. God does not cause evil, but He does allow it. God’s plan was to continue life into eternity for everyone. For the believer it is in unspeakable bliss without any semblance of suffering and pain. It may be easy to get distracted from this truth by the complexities of living in this world, yet the afterlife is real and the most important thing. God may allow evil and suffering to stir us up to think about eternal things through viruses like this. He may allow us to suffer so we move beyond our momentary pleasures and focus on what lasts forever. But even so we must never forget that Jesus has conquered this world. Sickness, evil, and deadly viruses do not have the last word. The Lord Jesus Christ does! That is why Paul could still be resolute even after he experienced such physical difficulties in this world. He refused to lose heart (2 Corinthians 6:4-10). Why? Because he had an eternal perspective (Colossians 3:1-4) and so should we!
 
If you are interested in learning more about this virus from a Christian scientific perspective follow the link below from Answers in Genesis:
 
 
 

https://answersingenesis.org/coronavirus/covid19-and-god/