Isaiah 43:18
“Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland.
20 The wild animals honor me,
the jackals and the owls,
because I provide water in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland,
to give drink to my people, my chosen,
21 the people I formed for myself
that they may proclaim my praise.
Pretty remarkable that seeds can take nothing but dirt, sunlight, and water, and convert them into food and beautiful flowers. God sure made some incredible inventions.
I talk about politics frequently because I live in the nation's capitol, where almost everyone is connected politically. Things that seem remote and distant to the vast majority of Americans spread over thousands of miles are backyard drama for those of us who live in the beltway area. Though I love to wax politic with anyone who will listen, I think it's very important to remember that Jesus ultimately didn't come to overthrow the Romans, he came to save people from their sins.
I have frequently stated that politics will not save our country. I stand by the assertion that any man-made attempt to implement a theocracy on this earth is at best misguided, and at worst downright legalism. The only theocracy that should ever exist is the one Jesus Christ will implement upon his return.
Since this COVID situation first took hold, I've done my best to remain focused on the Gospel proper, and not its political implications. I'm forced to remember again today that God's plans are brilliant in their own disruptive way.
In a now-famous experiment on human cognition and attention, Daniel Simons and Christopher Chabris demonstrated that the human mind can easily be fooled by its inability to effectively multitask and/or see the larger picture when directing its attention. I believe there is deep spiritual significance in this experiment. While we are all intently focused on our day-to-day lives, and the doom and gloom of the news headlines, it can be extremely easy to miss the fact that God is sovereign, and the Holy Spirit is moving in the midst of all these weird and wacky events to bring about God's sovereign plan for our good and his glory.
Don't miss the gorilla.
Even if there is a plague outbreak, even if there are mass protests and a deeply contentious election scheduled this year. Don't lose sight of what God is doing to bring history closer to its culmination. History concludes with a wedding between Christ as the bridegroom and the Church as his beautiful bride. Everything that happens before that is just prologue.