At the beginning of 2020, few of us could have imagined the chaos the world would be collectively thrown into by the deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 virus (SARS-CoV-2). The coronavirus pandemic represents the biggest global medical challenge of the 21st century. The World Health Organisation has reported over 23 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 with over 800,000 deaths worldwide. The disease has led to societal standstill, exposing our vulnerability and forcing many to consider their own mortality.

From a medical perspective, this has been a disease like no other in recent history. A cousin of the SARS virus, COVID-19 leads to an equally devastating pneumonia but, unlike SARS-CoV, it is transmissable in asymptomatic individuals. At its peak in April, the UK pandemic led to near exhaustion of NHS capacity. Almost all routine NHS services were suspended for a period of time and most staff redeployed for COVID-19 ward duty. Operating theatres were repurposed as intensive care units and additional temporary hospitals set up to increase capacity. Many staff themselves contracted the virus with over 540 health and social worker deaths recorded in England and Wales as a result.

Scientists and medical professionals around the world have worked tirelessly to better understand the virus and best medical treatments. Of particular importance is the work on vaccine development which appears to be making good progress.

How do we respond to the COVID-19 situation as a Christian? Psalm 46:1 says: ‘God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth is transformed and the mountains are toppled into the depths of the seas’. We can cling to the character of God and the hope and certainty of an eternal future amid the terror and fear of death. Our God ‘knows the end from the beginning’ (Is. 46:10) and ‘all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be’ (Ps. 139:16). We have this confidence that the Lord is in control. Furthermore we know we have a compassionate God, a high priest who is able to sympathise with our weaknesses and who wept when Lazarus died, despite knowing he would bring him back to life. Our model for responding to COVID-19 is from the Lord.

We should remember in prayer and action those affected by COVID-19 and lament for those who have lost their lives to the disease. Pray that as people consider their vulnerability and frailty, they would lift their eyes to heaven to trust in the Lord. Pray for our brothers and sisters in parts of the world such as South America in which the situation is less controlled and resources are more limited. The impact that coronavirus is starting to have in highly dense environments such as refugee camps is very worrying. Medical care for all other non-Covid work has been extremely limited until relatively recently and we are also witnessing the fallout of routine care which has been suspended for several months. Praise God that we now understand better how to manage the virus and are mercifully seeing fewer cases in hospital. We also have access to better testing and more rapid testing to help facilitate local lockdowns to prevent the spread of the virus. Please pray also for successful vaccine development as this is really the only ‘exit strategy’.

Practically we can contribute in whichever sector of society we find ourselves placed in. Public health measures are central to the control of pandemics, and as Christians we can protect the weak and vulnerable in society by being careful with social distancing measures and supporting those who are self-isolating. Our response is to rely on the Lord and His wisdom and although we may not have all the answers, we know there is One who does.

“God is too good to be unkind and He is too wise to be mistaken. And when we cannot trace His hand, we must trust His heart.” - Charles Spurgeon

Editorial by Dr Jane Macnaughtan

MMN Trustee