Will God act and deliver us from the Corona Virus as He promised in Psalm 91:3?

Will God act and deliver us from the Corona Virus as He promised in Psalm 91:3?

**********

May the contents of this post, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.

My prayer is that nobody's faith is damaged by this post. I pray rather that their faith be strengthened.

Question:Will God deliver on His promise in Psalm 91:3?

Short Answer: Yes

Main Reason: We have Christ's word for it.

REASONS

Start with Psalm 91:1-3 New International Version (NIV)

Psalm 91 (NIV)

1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.[a]
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
    my God, in whom I trust.”

3 Surely he will save you
    from the fowler’s snare
    and from the deadly pestilence.

The definition of "pestilence" in a Cambridge Dictionary is "any very 

serious infectious disease that spreads quickly and kills large numbers of people".

The Corona virus (COVID-19) clearly falls within this definition.

Surely therefore it is reasonable to interpret the last part of Psalm 91:3  to read follows;-

Surely God will save you from the Corona virus (COVID-19).

Is God doing that at the moment ( April 2020)? 

Many, many people in the world are infected with the virus and will become infected. Many people have died and will die.

Many of these people will be committed Christians.

This may cause many people to sadly conclude that God is not delivering on His promise of protection against pestilence in Psalm 91:3. 

Are they right?

It goes without saying that this is an extremely serious question which calls for prayerful consideration. .

My genuine humble opinion is that it is incorrect to conclude that God is not delivering on His promise of protection against pestilence in Psalm 91:3.

It may be useful to note upfront that verse 3 does not say God is delivering us, it states that God will deliver us. That is why it is not right or logical to use verse 3 to conclude that God is not delivering right now on His promise of protection against pestilence in Psalm 91:3. The word "will" tells us it is a promise about the future. More about this below.

Consider:

First,  Scripture does not teach that the Lord always grants divine blanket protection for all believers in all circumstances. Two thousand years of martyrs dying painful deaths confirms this. Remember: In the 23rd Psalm God promises to be with us as we "walk through the valley of the shadow of death. God does not promise to lead us round the valley.

Second, and here we come to Psalm 91:3. Lets look at it carefully: 

Consider again the word "will".

"Surely he will save you

from the fowler’s snare

and from the deadly pestilence."

"will" refers to the future. So the verse is saying: Even if you get the virus and no matter what the virus may do to you,  your eternal security remains secure. Ultimately God will save you from the "deadly pestilence". Remember: The Psalms often look forward to eternity.

Note that the verse does not say when God will save us from "deadly pestilence". It could be now, some other time during our lifetime or even beyond. 

Remember: In this life God grants us not security from but security in (Christ).

 Hear what Jesus said about the eternal security He has given to us:

John 6:37-40 New International Version (NIV)

37 "All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

This is why Paul wrote in Romans 8:35,37,38 and 39 as follows (COVID-19 added!):

Romans 8:35.37,38 and 39 New International Version (NIV)

35 "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword or COVID-19? 

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[b] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, including COVID-19, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord".

There is no doubt that God will save us from COVID-19. We know not when or where. However we do know that final victory is certain and secure. We have Christ's own word for it. In His farewell teaching to His apostles He said:

John 16:33 King James Version (KJV)

33 "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world".

May the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. 

Praise the Lord

May the contents of this post,  be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, our strength, and our redeemer.

This article on the UK Apologetics Website helped me with this post. Click here