If God is all powerful why can’t He stop COVID-19?
Kids Ask Hard Questions about Death
No parent wants their children to be afraid. We rush to allay their fears. But our good intentions often tempt us to take the simple way out. We may tell our children that if they just do “this” they won’t get “that.” We say, “It’s going to be OK. Don’t worry.” Or, “It’s nothing to be afraid of. God won’t let this virus hurt us.” But easy answers can’t take away a child’s fears for long. Kids ask hard questions and they recognize lies or half-truths! Our children’s hard questions are God-given opportunities to experience his grace and address their deepest fears.
We can answer our children’s questions with biblical truth in age-appropriate ways. Here’s a sampling to help you as your children ask questions in the days ahead:
If God is all-powerful, why can’t He stop COVID-19?
Think about what is true of God. God is truly all-powerful all the time. He only had to speak and creation sprang into being. He holds everything together now (John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:15-17). Nothing happens except through God and by His will (Daniel 4:35; Isaiah 45:9; Romans 9:20; Job 1:6-12). But God is not only all-powerful. Explain to your kids that God’s power is superglued to His goodness. God’s power always works for His glory and for the good of His children (Isaiah 6:3; Romans 8:28).
Sometimes we experience God’s goodness in pizza, puppies and Disneyland. But God’s goodness also gives us opportunities to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8; Psalm 100:5). Parents do “everything in our power” for the good of our children, but no parent’s power is limitless. God our Father’s infinite power always works to accomplish completely his every good purpose for us. This virus would not exist if our all-powerful God did not intend to use it for good in the lives of His children. How might you encourage your children to look for opportunities to show His goodness to your neighbor?
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