Remember the movie It’s a Wonderful Life? The scene when the characters are at the dance is one of the most memorable parts. The couples are swirling across the dance floor, when the ground itself begins to split apart. Two tricksters had decided to open up the dance floor, which covered up the pool beneath. The dancers fell into the pool with a resounding splash.

This story unearths a question I know many are wondering: in the circumstances surrounding us, how can I trust that God is in control, and that he won’t let the world drop out from under my feet like that dance floor? How can I trust God when my whole world is falling apart? How can I trust a God who seems to be doing nothing? I, of all people, have the right to be doubtful and afraid. My mom has chronic health issues, and if she contracts Coronavirus, she’ll likely not survive it. The Bible says that there is a just and faithful God, and that he is merciful and loving. But what is just and faithful about a world pandemic? What is merciful and loving about thousands of deaths around the world? How can a girl trust in a time like this?

Frankly, I don’t entirely know.

I doubt, just like you. I’m afraid of trusting, just like you. I’m scared, just like you. But there’s something we need to remember.

Trusting When It’s Hard

Trust isn’t about believing when it’s easy. Trusting means believing in the unseen. Believing when you feel you can’t. Believing when it means putting your faith in something that’s hard to perceive. To trust in God at a time like this is hard, but it’s nowhere near impossible. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your understanding.” Proverbs 3:5.

I don’t know what’s going to happen with the Coronavirus, or anything else in the future. Like 1 Corinthians 13:12 says, “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”

Maybe this isn’t something I’m supposed to understand. If God hasn’t explained it all fully, maybe He doesn’t want us to understand yet. After all, He’s God, and we aren’t. It’s not our job to know everything.

“As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the maker of all things.” Ecclesiastes 11:5

Trusting God Like A Squirrel

As I wrote this article, I sat outside, watching a squirrel run through the treetops.

I realized we should be like that squirrel. Obviously, I don’t mean grow a bushy tail and fur. I mean trust.

A squirrel doesn’t worry about the Coronavirus. He only trusts that God knows what he’s doing and that God is in control. He lets God’s love be a safety net for him. Whenever he is confused or afraid, he can remember that God knows what he’s doing. We can trust like that, too.

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

         Don’t get me wrong- I’m not saying we should never worry. Worrying can be helpful, if it points you to a problem that needs fixing. Yet I think we could use a little less worrying and a little more trusting. Matthew 6:26-27 says, “Look to the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”

         The birds and squirrels don’t worry; they trust. And if God takes care of them, why would he abandon us? As Matthew 6:25 says, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”

Jesus’s Sacrifice

         And what about Jesus? What he went through was harder than what any of us face today. Yet through all that pain, he wanted God’s will, even if it meant death. That’s pure trust, when you know that God is in control. When you have faith that he knows what’s best. That’s trust like a young child in her parents, knowing they’ll catch her if she falls. Trust like that is deep, unobstructed, and powerful. Trust like that is what we need. Like Psalm 56:3 says, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.” If our hope is in God, we can know for certain that we don’t need to be afraid. God will care for us, and everything will work out for his purpose.

         So remember, God is in control, no matter what happens. We may not ever understand, at least while we’re here on earth, but we can know that God does have a plan, and He will make it work out for the good. Trust is hard. But if you remember to trust, God will lift you up.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” Romans 15:13