What about our plans?

We’ve just heard about school closures, and cancellations of gatherings of more than 100, what are we to do?

This morning I read these words from the book of James “Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”  (James 4:13-15).

These words could have been written for today.  One thing that the Coronavirus has made us aware of is our weakness. We can make all sorts of plans, and we often think we’re in control, and then Covid-19 hits, we realise that we’re not.  In the past Christians used to say ‘D.V.’ this was an abbreviation for the Latin ‘Deo volente’ meaning “God willing”.  While we might not want to use a Latin phrase today, we could recover the attitude as we make our plans.  As I write this, all our plans are thrown up in the air, we realise that we’re not in control, but we can pray to the one who is. Here’s a prayer I’m praying at the moment:

Sovereign Lord, we pray for the prevention of the spread of the Coronavirus, for the healing of the sick, for the patience for those in quarantine and especially for those in care homes who
may not understand what is happening.  We pray that you would stop the virus entering care homes and hospitals.  We pray for the development of a vaccine. 

We pray that you may use this virus for good, keep us from panic and selfishness in our response, may we think of the interests of others.  Please make us wise in how we use extra time we may have from cancellations of events and for others who have more on their plate because of the virus, thinking especially of health care professionals and carers, and parents juggling extra child-care demands. Please make us aware of how fragile life is, and cause us to lift our eyes not only to the scientists and the doctors but to you.  Please forgive our world for ignoring you and pushing you to one side and we ask that the sense of weakness may lead to strengthening of faith in your risen and ruling Son Jesus Christ and seriousness to our repentance.  Amen