We’ve all heard it from well-meaning friends. They offer it to us like a childhood safety blanket that is intended to provide some level of comfort amidst the storms of confusion or uncertainty or fear that threatens our security. “God’s still on his throne,”…”God is in control,”…

Now, I understand what these well-meaning friends mean when they say that, which is, despite momentary troubles, the things above (i.e. love, hope, joy, faith…) remain unshaken and unchanged. In other words, “though things are out of my control, I take comfort in the fact that God’s kingdom is not shaken, and things will get better.” That is a praiseworthy thought, and taken the way that it’s intended, we should be encouraged.

However, most people (and even some Christians) may miss the nuance of your intended meaning, and may, in fact, take your “God is in control” comments at face value. This is very unfortunate, especially if your goal is to encourage people. If you aren’t aware of how it comes across, your words could be having the exact opposite effect. I’ll try and help spell it out for you.

1. It comes across as very confusing, like a mother saying to her sick child, “Shhh, it’s okay…God is doing this to you, so we can trust in him to take it away in his time.” This is religious non-sense, in that it doesn’t make sense (just like many religious clichés). It’s like saying,

   • God is predictably unpredictable.

   • Though we can’t trust what he’ll do next, God is trustworthy.

   • All you have to understand is that God understands.

   • Think about contradictory things until it crashes your brain.

   • This very discomforting news about God should comfort you.

2. Saying, “God is in control,” in a time like COVID-19 comes across as, “Don’t lift a finger to do anything about this, God will do it all for you.” This neglects our holy responsibility to partner with God to steward this planet and execute his will in the areas of justice, responsibility, and management of our families and communities.

3. Saying, “God is still on his throne,” in a time like coronavirus suggests to any thinking person that God is chomping on popcorn while he watches helpless people squirm as if it’s some sort of sick entertainment. God is on his throne? Really? Doing what? Watching tens of thousands of people around the world slowly suffocate as their lungs fill with fluid? Watching millions of families descend the slippery slope into poverty that they may not recover from for decades? Watching fear and suspicion and blame sweep the globe, breaking trust, destroying international agreements, and tearing apart nations? We ought to respond, “Why isn’t he getting off his throne and doing something?!”

4. Saying, “God is in charge,” or anything like it can come across as insensitive, dismissive, irresponsible, unconnected, selfish, unaware, and just plain dumb.

So, please, just…do not say it. I’d even encourage you to not believe it. Certain beliefs are just not healthy for responsible, glory-filled, god-image-bearers on this beautiful planet. Ignorance is not attractive, nor is it faith-filled.

True faith is a deep knowing of who God is—a clarity in understanding his character. Jeremiah 9:24 sets the bar for us:

We are not left out of God’s plans, his counsel, his ways. We are not orphans who are just permitted to shrug our shoulders and say, “I don’t know what God is up to in this situation.” That is treating our holy responsibility to know him with indifference and laziness. We are insiders. And we ought to boast that we know his true heart, which he describes for us in the above verse.

1. Kind

2. Just

3. Righteous

4. On the earth

5. Delighting
   

That’s what God is up to during the coronavirus. He is in every face that cries over a hospital bed. He is in every hand that reaches out to hold or comfort another. He is in every nurse and doctor who are rushing to meet the needs of patients. He is in every leader who is hurrying to fix the errors in our economic systems. He is in the one dying…drawing…their…last…

breath.————

And He is delighting over every person who is reconnecting with their family and friends, with themselves, with their calling and life’s work. He delights in those who represent him in showing kindness, justice, and righteousness to another human being.

God is on the earth.

Not on a throne above us.

So, what should you say, instead? To the grieving, to the hurting, to the starving?

Maybe nothing at all. Try, instead, to just do the next kind thing. But if something must be said, a simple “I know,” or “I’m with you in this,” could go a long way.

What would you say? (feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments below).