The Unique Duty of Christians amidst COVID-19

Calling all Christians!

• We, Christians, alone, have God’s ear, so to speak, on the basis of Jesus’ blood (see Heb. 10:19-22).
• God alone has ultimate power over what we are seeing in the land.
• Thus, we Christians have a duty and obligation that no other people group has: We alone can petition God in such a way that He would hear and be moved to change things.

Now consider this duty/honor/privilege in light of 2 Chronicles 7:13-15:

When I [God] shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people…

(2 Chron. 7:13)

• no rain: see Australia [“Recent Australian droughts may be the worst in 800 years”]
• locusts: Middle East & Africa [“Locust Watch [from United Nations]”]
• plague: COVID-19

According to 2 Chron. 7:13, God sends these things. And we live in a time where all 3 have reached abnormal levels in this world.

Do I have your attention so far? More importantly, does God have your attention?

Now read on to see what our duty is:

if my people, who are called by my name, will HUMBLE THEMSELVES and PRAY and SEEK MY FACE and TURN FROM THEIR WICKED WAYS, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place [i.e. the place of God’s presence, which was the temple at that time, and today is wherever believers dwell].

(2 Chron. 7:14-15)

Specifically, God has enlisted you to:

• humble yourself – ultimately, this is a posture of your heart, so I really hesitate to show external ways to do this and have anyone miss the most important thing to be humbled: you and your heart. Saying that, the Bible does show things like kneeling (2 Chron. 6:13) and fasting (Psalm 35:13) as ways to externally humble ourselves
• pray / seek God’s face – please, do this on your own and with your family and whoever lives in your house
• repent (“turn from your wicked ways”) – you are not the exception. You have areas you need to repent of. Even those private, “secret” sins can cause public, open pain (for a sobering example of this, see Josh. 7).