Some of the firsts caused by the pandemic: Finding strength for the battle

The coronavirus pandemic is causing a wave of
“firsts” in our day. Here are some examples.

Top Gun: Maverick, the long-anticipated sequel to Top Gun, was supposed to be in theaters on June 24 but has been delayed to December 23.

It joins other summer blockbusters in facing delays, including the latest James Bond movie, Wonder Woman 1984, and Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Marvel’s Black Widow and Tom Hanks’ World War II drama Greyhound have been taken off the calendar.

As you may have heard, the Wimbledon tennis championships have been canceled for the first time in peacetime. All major sports leagues have suspended play. The 2020 Summer Olympics were postponed until 2021. The French Open was postponed until the fall. The Kentucky Derby was postponed until September 5. The Boston Marathon was rescheduled for September 14.

The Tony Awards were postponed. The Southern Baptist Convention has canceled its annual meeting for the first time. And the Democratic National Convention was moved to August 17.

Finding strength for the battle

As we respond to a pandemic unprecedented in our generation,
let’s seek a turning to God that is unprecedented for us as well. The greater
the crisis, the greater the opportunity to trust the crisis to our Lord.

Consider this story from 2 Chronicles 14:

“Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in
the city of David. And Asa his son reigned in his place. In his days the land
had rest for ten years. And Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the
LORD his God. He took away the foreign altars and the high places and broke
down the pillars and cut down the Asherim and commanded Judah to seek the LORD,
the God of their fathers, and to keep the law and the commandment. He also took
out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the incense altars. And the
kingdom had rest under him. He built fortified cities in Judah, for the land
had rest. He had no war in those years, for the…