COVID-19 Series: #4—We truly are frail children of dust

19 Pastoral Thoughts On COVID-19

“Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” (Daniel 4:30).

These words were spoken by Nebuchadnezzar, king of the great Babylonian empire, after examining his personal achievements. Soon after that, God humbled him. He lost his mind and lived like an animal until God restored him to his senses and to his position of authority. This story shows us how even the mightiest among us are frail children of dust. We are not in control; God is. I think COVID-19 is eloquently showing us the same lesson.

When our bodies are healthy, our jobs are secure, our businesses are going well, and our marriages are intact, we forget our human frailty. We find the worship of God inconvenient. We become too busy for him. Human pride makes us think we reached where we are without God. It fills us with a false trust in ourselves. We think the only ones who need to pray are those in shanty compounds who do not even know where their next meal will come from.

Then in comes COVID-19, and all that changes. This virus has entered royal palaces and has infected heads of state. It has locked down nations and brought the entire aviation industry to a halt. It has reversed the economic gains of the most powerful nations on earth. Clearly, we are not in control of our destinies. God is. All of us should live every day with that reality in mind. I ask, are you as an individual expressing your total dependence on God by heartfelt worship? Do you humbly pray to him regularly?

“Frail children of dust,

And feeble as frail;

In Thee do we trust,

Nor find Thee to fail.

Thy mercies how tender,

How firm to the end;

Our Maker, Defender,

Redeemer and Friend.”

—Robert Grant (1779–1838)